


Underneath it All

by irememberyou



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Film Student Daehwi, Fluff, Give NielHwi some love, I dont' know how did this happen, I'm not sure myself, M/M, doctor Daniel, little angst, nielhwi - Freeform, please read at the beginning note
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-04-16 00:08:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 67,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14152368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irememberyou/pseuds/irememberyou
Summary: Underneath It All-a NielHwi fanfictionMeeting someone for once is unexpectedMeeting someone for the second time must be a coincidenceMeeting someone for the third time must be fate's way of playingMeeting someone for the fourth time must be heaven's planMeeting someone for the fifth time... means your life is up for changes you never thought will happen.When one is too used to living his own life's cycle, someone coming over to change it must mean something.... right?I'm serving another nielhwi fic because I don't even know the reason.Please give nielhwi some love.





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back for another nielhwi! Okay, I don't know what has gotten into me, I told myself that maybe just maybe is the last but look at me now (shrinks) I have a different chaptered fic for a different ship but I don't know, this plot just came in to me one night and I started writing it, praying that I actually reach into something useful to post... and I guess I did? :)
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTES:  
> 1\. there's an age gap between Daniel and Daehwi  
> 2\. Daehwi, Woojin and Jihoon are of the same age in this fic  
> 3\. I'm not a medical nor a film student but I'm getting everything from my research and random facts and dramas and whatnots (It doesn't really focus on that so don't worry, keke)  
> 4.Everyone in this fic is of legal age unless I mention  
> 5\. I will never sexualize any of the members  
> 6\. If you read Maybe just maybe, you'll know I'm just a trash for cuddles and kisses, please don't expect anything than that, especially that Daehwi's the main lead. thanks!  
> 7\. I'm a trash for slow build so bear with me  
> 8\. I'm not a fan of angst, I don't know what's up with this fic (though it's really slight... uhm)  
> 9\. I'm not sure how long this will be and I don't have a posting schedule so I'm sorry  
> 10\. I don't really read fics so if something's similar with this or whatever, please tell me in private, thank you!
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoyed plotting it! 
> 
> much love, 
> 
> -irememberyou
> 
>  
> 
> PS: if you're here after reading Maybe just maybe, thank you!

 

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

ONE

 

 

Burned out is not even the worst way to describe his situation right now. Daniel feels like dying. If only he can jump off the window and get the rest he has long needed, he could have done it. Being a doctor is a profession that he wanted but the frequent physical and emotional breakdown he has been experiencing since he was still a student just became a part of the cycle of his life.

Caffeine became his IV, takeout foods tasted the same with his taste buds, and his unit became a vacation place for him. After he officially became an attending physician in this hospital, his life just became duller than it was and today is one of those days where he pities himself for choosing this path.

“Dr. Kang.” Daniel was brought back to his senses. Past 1 in the morning and his on-call for ER and he hasn’t come home for three days straight. Blame his best friend, Dr. Yoon Jisung for suddenly filing a leave to go home to fix his emotional problem. He doesn’t even know how his leave was approved but well, that only meant for Daniel to cover up for his absence. Being one of the youngest doctor in their department, he surely get _a lot_ of job as if he is still in his residency.

“Yes, nurse Nayoung?” Daniel looked at the nurse who looks just like him, borderline zombie.

“119 dispatched, 4 minutes in. A 23 years old, male patient fainted in their household 20 minutes ago. He got a history of hypertension and hospitalization due to his sugar level. His BP is unstable as they are on their way here.” Nayoung reported and Daniel can only blow out some hair as he closed his eyes.

“He’s young. Where are my residents?” Daniel asked as he stood up.

“I already called them, they’re on their way to the ER as we speak.” Nayoung prelied.

“Okay, let’s go.” Daniel picked up his stethoscope and started fast walking with Nayoung following him behind. Graveyard shift is one of the hardest shift as senior doctors always leaves the emergency on the hands of the younger ones unless it’s a matter of losing someone’s life… or losing their license for ignorance or malpractice, it has always been like that.

 

 

 

                                                       

 

 

Daehwi just came home for his shift in the convenient store. He had to do double shift tonight as he had to exchange shift with one of his colleagues for him to have time to work on some school projects that are due one day after another. He sometimes doesn’t understand why students are subjected to emotional, physical and social stress when they’re supposed to go to school to learn.

 

“Daehwi! Daehwi! Daehwi!” the loud banging on his almost ruined door made him quickly get up from the thin foamed couch and groggily made his way to the door.

“Jinwoo hyung why-“

“Daehwi! Daehwi! Help me! Help me!” the urgency on Jinwoo’s voice made Daehwi to open his eyes wider, sleep completely leaving his system.

“Jinwoo hyung what happened?!”

“Jaehan! Jaehan!” Jinwoo’s voice is breaking and his hands are shaking making Daehwi reach for it.

“Calm down, tell me what happened.” Daehwi can feel his own heart beat fast as well.

“He fainted!”

And that didn’t gave him another second to reach for his in his pocket and dialled 119.

 

 

 

 

“Transferring the patient in 1, 2, 3!”

Daehwi held Jinwoo who’s shaking closer. The guy is obviously bigger than him but he needs to give him enough support or he might faint.

“I need someone to fill up his record.” The nurse with the tag ‘Im Nayoung’ said and Daehwi’s sure that Jinwoo is not capable of doing it now.

“I’ll do it.” He volunteered.

“Are you his family member?”

“I’m a neighbour and friend. He’s his brother but I don’t think he’s capable of doing it now.” Daehwi replied as he pointed at Jinwoo who is shaking at the side.

“Okay, here’s the file. Please leave blank the information you don’t know and clarify to his brother with anything. Put your name and signature here as well as your ID number.” Nayoung instructed.

“Don’t worry, I know him enough to fill up this form correctly.” Daehwi replied and that just made Nayoung look at him before leaving. Daehwi just then focused his attention to the paper while glancing at Jinwoo from time to time, afraid that he might have fainted or something.

 

 

“They are the family of the patient.” Daehwi and Jinwoo immediately stood up after seeing the doctor and nurse Nayoung come out of the closed curtain.

“I am Dr. Kang… Kang Daniel, I was the one who attended patient Jaehan.” Daniel reached out for Jinwoo to shake his hand and for a moment, Daehwi’s stunned. He knows that there are a lot of handsome doctors especially in Seoul University Hospital but this one’s too charismatic for his own good.

A nudge from Jinwoo brought Daehwi back to his senses only to realize that the doctor is offering his hand to him. He shok his hand as he can imagine the scene in slomo…. Only for him to snap himself back to reality.

“How’s my brother?” Jinwoo asked.

“I’m afraid that we have to admit him… at least for the next 48 hours.” Dr. Kang said at that made Jinwoo gasp.

“Can’t we just bring him home? What exactly happened?” Jinwoo asked.

“It was a borderline stroke. It was good that you have immediately called for emergency or else, it could have been too late.” Dr. Kang informed him and that made Jinwoo close his eyes as he reached for his chest, he can’t believe his brother is experiencing this. Daehwi’s been caressing his back all the while to calm himself up.

“Why is he experiencing this? He’s still young for that.” Jinwoo’s voice sounded so sad that it made Daniel take a deep breath.

“I have seen his history and I think, he hasn’t been drinking his maintenance after being hospitalized before… frequent stress, both physically and emotionally can eventually result to this. We have to observe him, especially his BP and sugar level. After two days, if it goes back to normal then we’ll see if I can allow him be discharged.” Dr. Kang replied and Jinwoo can only wimp. _Money,_ he needs it now.

“Doctor, I’ll be honest with you. We had no intention to bring him to this hospital but this is the closest one and we had no choice. Even if I work day and night, I don’t think I can ever afford even a ward in this hospital… I hope you understand.” Jinwoo’s voice cracked. He knows that this hospital can give the best service to his brother but his pocket just can’t do anything with it right now.

“I understand, if you want to transfer him to another hospital, please tell me and we’ll coordinate… but it’s best to have him stay here. There is a Welfare Service Department and you may check there to see if we can do something for your monetary situation… for now, we’ll have to keep him in the ER as there are still available beds… nurse Nayoung will assist you with whatever decision you can come up to.” Daniel replied. It’s not every day that he deals with monetarily challenged family and if he does, it just breaks his heart. He sometimes just wants to offer them help but he knows that it may come out negatively and he doesn’t want that to happen.

 

Daehwi continues to console Jinwoo, he himself is a struggling university student who supports himself through countless partime jobs, he doesn’t know how to help Jinwoo out right now. He glanced at the figure of the doctor who was making his way out of the emergency room. There was something with how the doctor talks that it somehow _calmed_ his heart. _He’s a good doctor… isn’t he?_

“Daehwi… what should I do?” Jinwoo cried out of frustration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, they transferred Jaehan in a small medical center near their place (which was declined as an option by 119). It surely is far behind Seoul University Hospital but Jinwoo tried to figure out anything he can do to deal with the money problems, even Daehwi lend him some money, the neighbors they have in their tenement also gave small amount but it still didn’t suffice the money he needed and the welfare service doesn’t guarantee at least 70% of help for the bill so he had no choice. Even Jaehan said that he’ll be fine in the center.

 

“Thank you for helping us with everything, nurse Nayoung.” Daehwi expressed his gratitude to the nurse. The transfer was quick and nurse Nayoung was of a big help because she knew someone in the medical center.

“It’s nothing Mr. Lee, as long as I can help, I would.” Nayoung smiled at him.

“And please extend our gratitude to Dr. Kang as well.” mentioning his name made Daehwi remember how he looked like and it made him gulp.

“I will. We hope that patient Jaehan will be well. Please tell them to not let him skip any of his maintenance or else, we may not know what will happen to him next.” Nayoung replied and Daehwi can only nod and smile. Since Jinwoo was busy with the transfer, he volunteered to pay the bill. He was surprised to see that Dr. Kang didn’t charge them a single cent for his service. The only thing they had to pay for was the emergency treatment, the materials they used and the transfer. Good thing that they have come up with enough money despite the really short notice, thanks to the oneness they have in the tenement they’re living in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two months later, Jaehan has recovered and is trying to live a normal life. Daehwi makes sure to at least, check on the brothers when he’s free as he knows how much they’re struggling now, especially with the medication, if only he can help them.

 

“Yes I’m already here… yes… I did… okay.” Daehwi sighs as he ended the call. He feels like the days are passing by like a blur these days especially that he can barely sleep. University is very demanding and as a film student, everything is just very hard, especially that outputs and requirements are being milked out of them. Let’s add the part time jobs he has.

 

“I think, buying a coffee wouldn’t hurt. I need it now.” Daehwi talks to himself as he dragged his body to the vendor machine.

“Hey Daehwi!” he lifted his head to see the person who called him.

“Oh, hi.”

“Is the essay done? I need to submit it before the deadline so that my topic will come first before someone hands in something similar to mine.” The girl said and that made Daehwi take a deep breath.

“Yeah, I already have it in my flash drive. Do you have your laptop?” Daehwi replied as he fished in his precious flash drive inside his bag while waiting for his coffee.

“That’s good! Thank you! I got it here.” the girl immediately sat at one of the benches beside the vendor machine and opened her laptop. Daehwi approached her and handed his flash drive while he takes a sip of his coffee.

“Your name is the file name.” Daehwi said. The girl immediately searched for her name and opened the file. _As expected from Daehwi._

“This is really good! I’ll have it printed later. Thank you Daehwi!” the girl grinned as she ejected his flashdrive.

“As promised, here’s my payment…” the girl took out some bills from her wallet and handed it to him. Daehwi didn’t even bother to count.

“And since I got it earlier than the agreed date, here’s an addition to my payment.” The girl handed several bills again which Daehwi dodge.

“I don’t need your tip though, we agreed for this amount only.” Daehwi replied.

“Oh come on Daehwi, it’s nothing big. When you work, you receive tip, just take it.” The girl insisted as she grabbed Daehwi’s grip and pushed in the money inside with a smile.

“There, all done. Thank you again!” and it didn’t even take several seconds before she closed her laptop and left.

Daehwi shut his eyes close as he massaged his temple. The essay was an easy one so he didn’t really spent a long time inside the internet shop to type it out.

“Daehwi!” he immediately turned upon hearing the familiar voice.

“Jihoonieee!” he smiled as he buried the money that he didn’t even bother to count inside his pocket.

“She’s customer number 11 for this week. Are you sure you’re not overdoing it?” Jihoon said as he glanced at the direction where the girl was headed.

“Wait, unless you’re keeping something from me?” Jihoon raised a brow which made Daehwi chuckle.

“I received a pay today, do you want a coffee?” Daehwi asked instead as he glanced at the vendor machine.

“I don’t need one now.” Jihoon replied as he sat on the bench.

“Okay.” Daehwi sat beside him.

“Your eyes tells me that you need a week of sleep.”

“Your eyes says the same thing.” Daehwi countered which made Jihoon laugh.

“Why did we even go with films?” Jihoon shakes his head.

“Please let that girl be your last customer this week or I’m going to tell Woojin that we need to do something.” Jihoon warned, Daehwi can only sigh.

“I’m going extra mile with saving so I need every single won I could get.”

“I told you, I have the old one, I can lend it to you… or you can buy it from me at a cheaper price.” Jihoon insisted again.

Jihoon is one of Daehwi’s best friend together with Woojin. The three of them are orphans who met each other in the Juvenile Center after being found living on old subways and streets around Seoul. They entered the center at the age where being adopted is not even an option anymore so the three just planned to wait until they turn legal and be kicked out of the center. They’re lucky enough that there were NGOs who sent the boys in the center to high school. Stepping into college was a farfetched dream but here they are now.

“Your mom might look for it… and I know that you’re still using it from time to time.” Daehwi rejected and that made Jihoon sigh.

Even if adoption didn’t even look like it was possible, Jihoon proved themselves wrong. One day, they were informed that there is a movie that is going to shoot some scenes in the center. Being boys who have strong interest with films, they were so eager to witness the filming. It was really random when Jihoon was spotted by the director himself when he personally chose the extras for the film. That is where Jihoon’s life changed. The director liked him and little did Jihoon know, the director discussed to her husband about wanting to adopt a 17 years old boy. It was the turning point of Jihoon’s life. He got adopted by a good family, leaving Daehwi and Woojin behind but that didn’t stop the three of them from keeping in touch.

“Then how about the camera Woojin was talking about? The one from the studio? You could get that and just save for different lenses.” Jihoon remembered.

A year after Jihoon left the center, Woojin found a part time job that he kept as a secret from the center since they were not allowed to have one. He just needed to have his own money aside from the monthly allowance given to them by the NGO. He became a janitor in a dance studio. Woojin has a natural talent in dancing so sometimes, he can’t help but grove in while cleaning and he was seen by one of the big shot choreographers in the studio. It was like a dream come true for Woojin to be allowed to dance but what really surprised him was when the choreographer asked if Woojin will be okay if he’ll process papers and have Woojin under his care. That left Daehwi in the center but the two still tried their best to keep in touch and visit him every chance they get.

“I’m still thinking about that one.” Daehwi replied with a grin and that just made Jihoon shake his head. Sometimes, he thinks that Daehwi can’t see the difference between his independence and pride.

“Whatever, our offers will always be open...” Jihoon shrugged his shoulder as Daehwi thanked him.

 

Daehwi was the only one who waited to be _kicked out_ of the center as he reached his legal age. Woojin and Jihoon would frequently talk about their plans for the college entrance exam as the three of them have a strong desire when it comes to film studies. Daehwi didn’t even think of getting the exam as his mind was fixed on finding ways to survive after getting out of the center. To his big surprise, Woojin and Jihoon actually contributed money to help him pay for the exam. He wanted to reject thinking that it will just be a heart break if he passes the examination but the two insisted on helping him find a scholarship… they just need to pass the exam and enter the university that they wanted, Sungkyunkwan University.

“Know what, we better head to our room now, Woojin must be waiting.” Jihoon stood up and grabbed his bag after seeing that Daehwi consumed his coffee. Daehwi stood up as well and the two dragged themselves to their classroom, hoping to stay awake while listening to the lecture.

 

 

 

 

-

 

Saturday and finally, Daniel’s out of the hospital. He always look forward to his day offs and he’s just glad that it landed on a Saturday. Before leaving the hospital, he made his other best friend, nurse Jaehwan to _never_ contact him except when it’s emergency of all emergencies as he just want to gather himself up on his _free day._

“Hey, a limited edition Sunmi album is going to be sold at the alleyway tomorrow, please get it for me.” Jisung entered his office without even knocking and that made him roll his eyes.

“Don’t drag me with your idol obsession hyung, I am never gonna pick up any albums for you anymore.” Daniel picked up his bag after dropping his coat at the laundry bag and closed it.

“You’re going to do your laundry?” Jisung asked.

“I don’t have anyone to do it for me hyung.” Daniel stated and Jisung just made face.

“Get married and you’ll have one.”

“Tell me that if you get yourself one already.”

“Do whatever you want with your life Kang Daniel!” Jisung raised his voice, defeated.

“Will do.” Daniel picked up the laundry bag as well.

“Be back tomorrow night, don’t do anything inside my office, relay it to Jaehwan.” Daniel said as he walked pass the older.

“No one will stay in your office that looks like a pigsty Dr. Kang...” Jisung shakes his head as he looked around Daniel’s office.

“My office is flattered by your compliment.” Daniel smirked as they are now headed to the elevator. Jisung waited until the door closed before he left to do his rounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He’s starving inside his dark unit. He arrived earlier and just threw everything on the floor and lied down on his couch, it didn’t take a few seconds until he left to dreamland. He woke up as his phone rang, a message from Jaehwan reminding him to eat and that just made him shake his head. He doesn’t know if he’ll be thankful that he was thoughtful enough to remind him about one essential thing in life or get mad at him for disturbing his sleep.

As he cannot return to sleep anymore, he decided to just shove in his clothes inside the laundry machine after segregating them. As he headed to his kitchen, he’s just glad that he found a spam, a still edible kimchi and a packed rice. He just had them inside the microwave and he cut the spam while waiting for the microwave to do its work.

 

While eating, he glanced at the clock only to realize that it’s actually dinner time. He skipped lunch time… if the bread that Jisung shoved to his face counts as breakfast.

 

After doing his dishes, he headed to his laundry room and tiredly hang the clothes to let them dry after getting them from the dryer. He’s used living as an independent man and do these stuffs but sometimes, his lazy and tired self just won’t cooperate.

Daniel returned to his kitchen for a can of beer, only to be taken a back after finding an empty storage of beer, wine or any alcoholic drinks. He can’t remember when was the last time he did a grocery for beer and alcohol so no wonder, its empty now.

He still had an internal battle whether to buy from the convenient store or just head to a bar and thirty minutes later, after flipping around his bed, he finally decided to just head to the bar and have his own merrymaking, besides, he’s not needed to go the hospital until 9pm the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two months later, Daehwi never expected to meet that charismatic doctor from Seoul University Hospital again but here he is now, drinking alone on the table at the corner of the bar he’s working at. _Wow, he looks even better in black._ For the second time, he saw Kang Daniel again and this time, he’s surely getting drunk.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              


	2. TWO

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

TWO

 

“Excuse me, Dr. Kang… Dr. Kang.” Daehwi tried to tap the doctor’s shoulder who is now sprawled all over the table with some of the bottles knocked off.

“Dr. Kang…” Daehwi raised his voice a little as he shook him this time but received no response from the doctor. Daehwi sighed as he contemplated on what to do only to hear Daniel mumble words as he moved his head, showing his face to the waiter who suddenly found his breathing get uneven. _Drunk and handsome._

“Daehwi, please get the senses of that customer back… we need to send him home so we can clean up. I have been trying to wake him up but he’s wasted as fck.” Another waiter, Moonbok said.

“I am trying hyung, he’s so drunk.” Daehwi replied with a sigh. He looked at Daniel then to the bottles of liquor and cans of beer on top of the table, _he surely planned to be this wasted._

“Look for his phone or his ID and find someone to pick him up.” Moonbok suggested.

Daehwi took a deep breath before fishing on the pockets of the doctor, finding his phone. He tried opening it but it has a password, he tried the fingerprint scan but it’s not available. _Why is this doctor even using password? What if there’s an emergency? He’s not even using a fingerprint scan._

Daehwi then tried his luck by pressing 1, hoping that someone’s registered to the doctor’s speed dial.

**_Calling Dr. Yoon Jisung (SUH)_ **

“Finally.” Daehwi smiled as he placed the phone to his ears.

“Damn it Kang Daniel, this better be worth it for ruining my short nap away from the ER!” Daehwi flinched over the snap of the doctor named Jisung from the other line.

“Hello? This is not Dr. Kang-“

“WHAT?!” Daehwi’s surprised over the change of tone from the doctor on the other line.

“Who are you?! Why is his phone with you?! Let me talk to Daniel!” _Is this his mom?!_

“I’m sorry Dr. Yoon-“

“How did you know my name?! where is Daniel?!” _When will this person let me finish talking?_

“Dr. Yoon as I was saying, Dr. Kang is drunk in our bar. It’s 4am, we are closing and he’s wasted. It seems like he’s a new customer so he has no data here yet so I just had to use his phone’s speed dial to contact someone to pick him up.” Daehwi explained in one breath, hoping for the doctor on the other line won’t interrupt him.

Pause.

 

“Oh my God Kang Daniel!!!!!!” and Daehwi just had to pull the phone away from his ear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hi, I am Kim Jaehwan, I am Daniel’s friend, Jisung sent me here to pick him up.” Jaehwan smiled at the long haired waiter who opened the bar’s door for him.

“Ah the doctor’s friend? He’s here, wait...” Moonbok opened the door bigger for Jaehwan as he called for Daehwi’s name.

“I’m coming hyung!” Daehwi came straddling towards the door’s entrance.

“Oh hi.” Daehwi looked at Jaehwan from head to toe in his white nurse uniform.

“Hi, I’m Kim Jaehwan, Daniel’s friend. Where is he?” Jaehwan asked.

“Oh, he’s inside the employee’s longue since he vomited, he’s asleep.” Daehwi replied and they can both hear Moonbok scoff. He had to clean the vomit together with another waiter while Daehwi and their other company helped the doctor clean up.

“I’m really sorry for what Daniel has caused you. I’m here to pick him up.” Jaehwan apologized. Daehwi then accompanied him to see the drunk doctor.

“You’re going to get a beating from Jisung hyung.” Jaehwan whispered as he irked while looking at how wasted Daniel is.

“Mr. Kim, we haven’t billed him out yet and our cash registry is already offline for cards at this hour, we can only accept cash.” Daehwi needs to mention the bill or else it will be billed to the attending waiter of Daniel who is none other than Moonbok.

“Here is for the payment for what he drank, if it’s not enough, please address the bill to Seoul University Hospital under his name, we’ll have the money wired.” Jaehwan handed some cash to Daehwi.

“And here is a tip, please share it with the rest of the waiters that Daniel had to bother.” Jaehwan handed more cash, Daehwi’s supposed to complain when their manager, Shindong woke up from the other side of the longue.

“Daehwi, is this man not going to be fetched- oh, sorry.” Shindong apologized upon opening his eyes and see Jaehwan’s presence.

“Hi, I’m sorry for disturbing and delaying your closing.” Jaehwan apologized.

“Yeah… but its okay, at least someone has picked him up.” Shindong faked a cough, hoping for the person to not take what he said negatively.

“I already handed the payment and the tip to him, if it’s not enough, please send the bill to Seoul University Hospital under his name, we’ll send the money right away.” Jaehwan reiterated.

“Okay, thank you Mr.-“

“Jaehwan, Kim Jaehwan.”

“Yes, thank you Mr. Kim. I’ll have to get the money from Daehwi and process the cash register, Daehwi please assist them and help them out, call Moonbok to help.” Shindong said as he proceeded to do his job.

“Can you help me bring him out with the other waiter? I’ll go get his car, I passed by it earlier when I arrived riding a cab.” Jaehwan asked and Daehwi just nod. He watched the nurse get the car key from Daniel’s pocket and headed out. Daehwi then called for Moonbok to help drag the doctor out of the bar.

“This customer should be banned from returning here.” Moonbok mumbled as they drag the big man out. Another waiter had to help out as he’s too wasted for his own good.

“We should charge him double.” Moonbok kept on mumbling.

“The one who picked him up paid triple over his bill plus tip…” Daehwi replied in a whisper but Moonbok heard.

“Wow, must be a big shot.” Moonbok smirked.

“He’s a doctor as what I have said.” Daehwi can only sigh.

 

 

“Thank you for helping me out once again.” Jaehwan faced Daehwi after he closed the door.

“You’re welcome sir, it’s our job to keep the safely of our customers.” Daehwi replied with a smile.

“Before we leave, may I know your name… Daehwi?” Jaehwan asked as he recalled the manager and the long haired waiter call him ‘Daehwi’ as well as it’s written on his name plate.

“Lee… Lee Daehwi.” Daehwi smiled.

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Lee Daehwi.” Jaehwan paid gratitude which Daehwi immediately responded. Daehwi then watched the expensive car drive off. _Please rest well, Dr. Kang._

-

 

 

“The next time you try to get drunk, make sure you remove me from your speed dial.” Jisung stormed in his office while he drown himself with coffee. Jisung’s supposed to be out now as his on-call shift is over and he can see Jaehwan following him behind, he can only massage his nape. Hangover is almost gone but the ranting of the doctor-nurse duo is more than enough for the hangover to comeback.

“Make sure to send me the money with interest, I almost gave out all my cash to pay for your bill and I even had to punch out two hours early since Jisung hyung can’t leave the ER.” Jaehwan added.

“You could have used my own card to pay.” Daniel reasoned out.

“They can only accept cash at 5 in the morning.” Jaehwan replied as he rolled his eyes.

“Text me the amount and I’ll have it wired immediately.” Daniel can only sigh.

“Why did you drink so hard and got yourself wasted? You wouldn’t pass out like that if you didn’t do it on purpose, we all know how strong your alcohol tolerance is.” Jisung asked, calmly this time.

“Tired… I guess?” Daniel spoke with an unsure tone which made Jisung raise a brow.

“Kang Daniel…”

“I just wanted to forget.”

“Forget about what?”

“Forget about how tiring this life is.” And that made the two shut up.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jisung asked softly. He have seen how Daniel immerged from being a lowly resident to one of the great doctors in the hospital and he knows how tiring this life is, as someone older than him, he thinks that he has gone through the emotions that Daniel is having right now.

“It’s still the usual hyung.” Daniel sighed and before Jisung can reply, Daniel’s phone rang.

“Need to go now, go home straight and Kim Jaehwan, go get some sleep before your shift starts.” Daniel stood up and left before the two can even reply.

“Daniel needs some spice in his life.” Jisung’s words made Jaehwan chuckle.

“Is this how you got through that phase?” Jaehwan asked which made Jisung roll his eyes.

“Did I say anything?”

“So you did… where is he now?” Jaehwan followed Jisung like a puppy out of Daniel’s office.

“Stop following me, you’re not getting any.”

“Hyuuunggg~”

“No, go to the doctor’s lounge and use my badge, tell them I allowed you, like the usual.” Jisung handed his lounge badge to the nurse who happily received it.

“But I’m still asking, where is he now?”

“It was just for one night!” and Jisung snapped, Jaehwan knows it’s going to be a looonggg discussion if Daniel’s around.

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi tried to open his eyes while listening to their lecturer, he’s too sleepy for his own sake.

“Wake up.” He can hear Woojin whisper from his right.

“I’m trying.” He hissed.

“Stop working so late at the bar!”

“A customer stayed up, I had to wait for someone to fetch him.” Daehwi tried to focus again.

“Since when did you become a baby sitter to drunkards?” Woojin’s voice raised a little, gaining attention from some of their classmates which resulted for the two to earn a glare from Jihoon.

“Cut it and let me sleep.” and Daehwi’s down for the rest of the lecture.

 

 

 

 

“I swear, if you two continues to chatter during our class, I am transferring seat.” Jihoon turned to face the two as they make their way to the cafeteria.

“It’s Woojin’s fault.”

“I was asking you to wake up!” Woojin reasoned out.

“No matter whose fault it is, still!”

“Why are you being such a mom?” Daehwi snapped making Jihoon raise a brow.

“Because I’m worried for demerits from that class? We all want to get a good shot for third year eh?” Jihoon replied in a matter of fact manner which made Daehwi sigh.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m just…”

“Tired.” Jihoon finished his sentence for him.

“Give yourself a break.” Jihoon walked beside him and caressed his back.

“I can’t, I’m behind the water and electric bills, winter is coming, the heater is going to cause me fortunes so I need to save up.” Daehwi sighed.

“I’m planning to move out soon.” Jihoon suddenly announced which made Woojin and Daehwi look at him.

“Why?”

“It’s mom’s idea actually. She saw how worked up I am from waking up early to catch the bus to the university and since she’s working on with a drama right now, she’s not often home just like dad. She asked me if I wanted to live on an apartment nearby and I said no since I didn’t want to burden her but she insisted… I might move in after this semester.” Jihoon explained.

“You can move in with me and if living with me free of charge wouldn’t make you sleep at night, then you can pay me rent.” Jihoon suggested which earned a nod of agreement from Woojin.

“I agree with Jihoon’s suggestion!” Woojin raised his hand.

“And I can sleep over too!” Woojin added excitedly and it made Daehwi chuckle.

“I’ll think about that.” Just like any of Daehwi’s response to their offers and that just made Jihoon sigh as he exchanged glances with Woojin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

“Congratulations on another successful operation Dr. Kim.” Daniel said as he followed Minseok on their way out of the ICU after making sure that the patient is in stable condition.

“You are such a good first assistant, as always.” Minseok proudly replied.

“I’m flattered.” Daniel chuckled.

“How’s the ER doing?” Minseok asked which obviously made Daniel sigh.

“Terrifying.” He dramatically sighed again earning laughter from his mentor.

“It’s always like that. When I was your age, I even had a breakdown in the middle of the ER when we had 3 waves in 1 hour, I was dragged out by Dr. Shim and I received a good beating to get back to my senses.” Minseok shared and that made Daniel smile. Minseok was his direct senior when he was an still an intern then became a resident then now, Minseok became a friend and a mentor whom he always cherish.

“I haven’t seen Dr. Shim around often.” Daniel realized upon the mention of the professor.

“He’s in the university more often, he received more teaching loads saying that he thinks that he’s more fit to become a teacher now” Minseok chuckled. Daniel knows how much Minseok looks up to Dr. Shim Changmin, the one he considers as his mentor, it’s just like how Daniel himself look up to Minseok.

The two continues to chatter until they saw Jaehwan running towards them.

“Daniel! Daniel! Oh… I mean Dr. Kang!” Jaehwan’s frantic voice made the two go on halt.

“What’s wrong nurse Jaehwan?” Daniel asked.

“Good day Dr. Kim.” Jaehwan made sure to greet the senior doctor first.

“What’s with the fuss?” Minseok asked.

“Something’s going on in the ER and your residents needs you.” Jaehwan’s nose are flaring, an obvious emergency making the two doctors follow him to the emergency room.

 

 

 

 

“I DON’T NEED AN INTERN TO ATTEND ME! I NEED A DOCTOR!” a mad man? Or a drunk man? Or a hoodlum? No one knows... has been making a commotion on the ER disturbing other patients and the rest of the hospital staff.

“What is going on here?” Minseok’s voice raised upon entering the scene. Daniel immediately walked towards his inter, Jinyoung who is looking down and Somi who is close to tears.

“Are you a doctor here? I need myself treated.” The mad man pointed at Minseok who raised a brow at him.

“I am a doctor here and so are those two.” Minseok pointed at Jinyoung and Somi.

“Every doctor here has a patient to attend, you are technically disturbing the peace and order inside our Emergency Room mister.” Minseok walked closer to look at him from head to toe before facing the other people and ER staffs who are watching the scene.

“Everyone go back to work, attend your patients, show’s over.” And Minseok’s voice echoed around the ER before he closed the curtain.

“Mister.” Minseok calmed his voice as he looked at the mad man.

“You’re drunk, you’re wounds are from getting beaten up... for being here in our hospital, we need you to report about what happened to our security department for it to be reported to the authorities, we don’t take no for an answer since it’s a protocol.” Minseok said as he glared at the man.

“These two are residents, technically doctors themselves… you either allow them to treat your wounds and run some tests to you or we move you to OPD without touching you anywhere.” Minseok said.

“Dr. Kang, tell your residents to man up and treat them a cup of coffee at the cafeteria after, put it under my name.” Minseok said and with that, he left the scene.

“Jinyoung, attend to this patient’s wounds, Dr. Jeon, prepare for his leg x-ray and CT, have him rest right after everything and we see if we let him stay for the night or move him to OPD. Meet me at my office then.” Daniel instructed.

“And mister, don’t make another commotion, our security will be around your curtain, one wrong move and we’ll have to report you to the police.” Daniel warned the man before heading out of the ER.

At this very moment, he found another reason why he’s continuing with this job. It’s not just because he wants to save lives but he wants to be someone who will be considered as a mentor by others not only because he’s great as a doctor but because he’s someone who is humane to the people under him… just like how he looks up to Dr. Kim Minseok.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Daehwi’s glad that the bar is closed at Monday so he gets a night rest, he only got one essay to work on and he didn’t receive any part time jobs from his schoolmates so he’s free after his convenient store shift.

“Daehwi, can I ask you a favour?” Sohye, another worker asked and he knows what is it.

“When?” and it made Sohye giggle.

“On Wednesday, my teacher asked us to work on a group project and my groupmates decided to have a sleepover, I can’t skip since I have an important part in the project.” Sohye explained.

“I’ll see about that, I’ll tell you tomorrow.” Daehwi replied just so he can reply since he knows that he’ll still be getting that shift anyway.

“You’re the best!” Sohye always gets her way with Daehwi and Daehwi can’t complain because the female worker always covers up for him if he needs some stuffs to do with school as well.

 

 

“Good evening welcome to All Days 24/7.” Daehwi’s voice faded upon seeing the doctor two nights ago enter the convenient store.

Daniel greeted back but paused the moment he saw Daehwi.

“Oh, I met you before right?” Daniel asked as he tried to remember the male behind the counter. Daehwi’s unsure of either to mention about the bar or the hospital encounter.

“The hospital?” Daniel tries to remember as he looks at the younger, he’s awesomely familiar and it hit him.

“Right! The hospital, your friend was brought to the ER… if I remember it right?” Daniel tried to recall.

_So, he doesn’t know about the bar._

“Yeah, I am.” Daehwi smiled.

“How’s your friend?” Daniel asked, he has a blurry memory about the friend but Daehwi’s face that night finally flashed in his mind.

“He’s fine now, we made sure that he’ll get a monthly medicine set from the center.” Daehwi replied.

“That’s good.” Daniel nod as he looks at Daehwi again. He’s so small, think, with a small face but is very pretty for his eyes, that, he must admit.

“What can I do for you by the way… Dr. Kang?” Daehwi asked.

“Oh right! What’s the best chips you can recommend?” Daniel’s question made Daehwi’s brows meet. _Why is this doctor asking for chips?_

“Chips?”

“I’m off to the hospital, I wanna bring some chips to my residents since they’re going to have some overnight study for a test…-“ Daniel paused after seeing the change on Daehwi’s expression into an amused one.

“Did I talk too much?” Daniel realized himself as well.

“No, not really.” And Daehwi let out the chuckle he was trying to hold in, it made Daniel laugh as well as he touched his nape.

“So long story short, I need chips but I’m not sure which one.” Daniel shyly stated. During his residency, he just overdosed himself with coffee and he doesn’t want that to happen to his residents so he asked for advices from others and they recommended chips so that they can munch on something while studying to stay awake.

“I see, there’s no specific chips to stay awake though.” Daehwi’s still amused but he finds it cute, with the fact that he’s worried over his residents.

“But I can suggest you give them sweet treats, sugar rush can help one stay awake… that I know since I’m a student as well.” Daehwi replied.

“And you can still buy random chips too, just the not so salty ones so they can have options.” He added making Daniel nod.

“I’ll…” Daehwi looked around, waiting if someone will enter for him to know if he can leave his post for a while.

“I’m back!” Sohye entered the store with their take out dinner.

“Oh, good evening.” Sohye greeted Daniel who smiled at him.

“Sohye, can you show our customer the chips section? I’ll prepare our dinner.” Daehwi said as he reached for the take out that Sohye’s holding from the counter.

“Okay, please follow me sir.” Sohye said as he assisted Daniel.

 

Daehwi’s eyes widen upon seeing the amount of chips Daniel placed on the counter.

“Wow Dr. Kang, how many residents are you going to feed with these?” Daehwi can’t help but ask, it wasn’t just chips but bottles of coffee, some candies and some other stuffs.

“Figured I might give some to others as well.” Daniel shyly replied making Daehwi chuckle. He started to punch in the items and placed them inside the bag. Daniel then handed his card and waited for Daehwi to finish with the transaction.

“Thank you for coming sir, please come again.” Daehwi bowed.

“I will.” Daniel replied, almost a whisper as he gave Daehwi one last look before heading out of the store.

For the third time, Daehwi met the doctor and this time, they talked.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I would like to thank everyone for reading this, for leaving a comment and giving kudos, I really appreciate it.  
> I'm having so much fun making this fic so I hope that you'll like it too! I still can't believe nielhwi got me to write another chaptered fic. hahaha!
> 
> How was it? Comments, kudos and everything is very well appreciated. thank you! <3
> 
> -irememberyou


	3. THREE

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

THREE

 

Daehwi’s lungs are burning from all the running he did. From the bus stop, he sprinted his way to their lowly tenement and made his way to the small admin office to find most of the people living their standing even outside the room. He tried to make his way inside since he received a text from Jaehan.

“Hyung what happened?” Daehwi asked after squeezing himself in the crowd.

“Something’s terribly going wrong…” Daehwi’s brows met after hearing Jaehan’s reply. He only texted him that he needs to go home quick so Daehwi had to excuse himself from a meeting with his groupmates for a production and went home quick. Woojin promised to relay the details to him.

 

“I know this is a shock for all of us.” Daehwi recognized the one talking, he’s the one who ‘owns’ the tenement. He’s the one who offered Daehwi the low priced apartment he has now.

“We all want to stay but we can’t do anything, the owner of the land has spoken.” His words made a fuss among the people.

“This is what happened.” Daehwi received the paper that Jinwoo handed him. His eyes widen upon reading what was written on top of the paper.

**“ _Notice for Demolition”_**

“We are given a month to find a place to move out and at least, save all our stuffs from the demolition, this is the extent they can give us before they start the demolition one month from now.” the tenement owner said and suddenly, everything sounds like a shrill noise to Daehwi’s ears. They’re being kicked out of their place and they can’t do anything about it.

The fuss around the admin office got louder and Daehwi suddenly doesn’t know what to say. If he’s going to lose the place he’s staying at, he don’t know if he can find a new place to live in. The option of living with either Jihoon or Woojin is there but he’s been enough of a burden to them already, he can’t let them always save his ass from all his life problems.

 

 

Once the meeting ended, Daehwi can’t even drag himself back to his place, he still needs to work at the convenient store and go to the bar after. He already messaged Sohye that he’ll be late and he’ll make it up to her on their next shift but his mind is drifted somewhere else. He needs to find a place that will ask him to pay the same amount he’s paying right now… which is close to impossible at this time. It’s almost winter and places must be occupied now.

“Daehwi, where are you going to stay?” Jinwoo asked.

“I don’t know yet hyung.” He sighed.

“Are you going to work?” the older asked.

“I am.” He sighed again.

“Be careful on your way there and on your way home.” Jinwoo smiled at him.

“I will hyung.” And he bid goodbye to the siblings, with heavy heart, he needs to continue living his life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daehwi’s not himself as he’s obviously zoned out. Sohye asked for the reason and of course, he couldn’t lie to her or else she might go sulky and not go on with doing favors for him in the future. The entire shift, Daehwi zoned out to the point that Sohye asked to exchange post with him in the counter, he ended up doing the inventory which didn’t help either.

Once their shift ended, Sohye dragged him before he can head to the bus stop.

“I’ll try to ask around about a cheap or cheaper place for you to stay.” Sohye is someone he knew after working at the convenient store and he’s really happy every time they get the same shift. Among the other workers, she’s the nicest and easiest one to work with. It must be the age since they’re the only young ones working there.

“Thank you Sohye, please tell me immediately if you find one.” Daehwi can only hope.

Now is time for him to head to the bar, it’s a Friday which means, more people are going to be around, it surely is going to be a long night for him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Sejeong, Daniel’s colleague who is also his batchmate raised a brow at him.

“You could at least give me some response.” She sounded annoyed which made Daniel sigh.

“I’m trying to think.” He simply replied.

“I don’t think you are.” Sejeong snapped which made Daniel sigh.

“I’m trying to think of ways okay!” Daniel blurted out.

“I really want to save this patient Daniel, I really want to.” Sejeong frustratingly sighed. He received a text from her earlier, saying she needs some help and Sejeong’s situation honestly broke Daniel’s heart. She has a patient whom they can consider as a ticking bomb, one wrong move and she’ll be gone. They both know that the chances of the girl surviving under the knife is less than winning on a lotto but Sejeong doesn’t want to give up on her.

“What did Dr. Kahi say?” Daniel asked, Dr. Kahi is Sejeong’s mentor on the other hand.

“She has already talked to the patient’s family and discussed her situation. The family said that they have long accepted the fact and they just want to be with her on… on her remaining days.” Sejeong’s voice broke and Daniel knows that the girl is close to tears, something she seldom does. As much as he wants to console her, it’s one of the consequences of their job, it’s facing the facts and waiting for miracles to happen.

“Oh Sejeong…” Daniel can only give her sympathy.

“It’ll be fine.” Even he knows it will not. This is one thing he hated about the job, it’s facing the death of a patient… something harder than imagining his own death.

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

It’s been a week since the announcement of the demolition and the workload from school as the semester is ending doesn’t even help Daehwi out. His body is reeking with so much coffee, stress and problems. He doesn’t even know how he survived the past 20 years of his life.

“Daehwi, the shoot is at 1pm tomorrow.” Jihoon reminded him as he nods. Jihoon’s directing the commercial that is their final requirement for a subject. He’s one of the camera person so he needs to be early on set, well, he always is early.

“I’ll provide the best food for our shoot.” Woojin excited said which made the two laugh. Woojin enjoys being one of the PAs as he likes to run around for errands and be part of the food committee. Of course the production assignment is rotating depending on the production that is being asked but Woojin’s just too attached with his PA job.

“You better bring in the best coffee in town.” Jihoon warned which made Woojin roll his eyes.

“Doesn’t mean you’re the director you can boss me out like that.” Woojin snapped making Jihoon chuckle.

“You two always acts like you’re ready to bite each other, are you sure you’re not lovers at some sort?” Daehwi teased earning a glare from the two making him raise both of his hands in defeat, but he still managed to chuckle over the blush on Jihoon’s face.

“You two are funny.” Daehwi commented as he walked ahead.

“Are you going to the convenient store?” Jihoon changed the topic.

“No, it’s my day off, I’m heading straight to the bar.” Daehwi replied.

“When are you quitting your job as a waiter there?” Woojin can’t help but ask. On free days, he and Jihoon would usually go to the bar and wait for Daehwi to finish but that’s something that Daehwi doesn’t like so he always shoo them away.

“When I get rich.” He sarcastically replied which made the two sigh. Before, he only works at the bar during weekends but now he already accepted some weekdays shift since the demands of being a film student is rising.

“I hope you quit the job by the next semester.” Jihoon’s voice sounded like pleading which actually breaks Daehwi’s heart. He doesn’t want to worry his friends but he knows that it’s impossible as he knows that the three of them are like brothers.

“I’ll see about that.”

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daniel can’t believe he had to have his car dragged off the busy road of a Friday night. He’s free and his car just had to break down in the middle of the road. He had it toll and he had to pay for it to be fixed as well.

“You can pick it up by Sunday or we can bring it your place.” The mechanic said and that just made it worst. He already had a rough day in the hospital and what the mechanic said just ruined his night more.

“I’ll just pick it up, just message me.” Daniel replied. Now he doesn’t feel like going home already.

“What’s the nearest bar here?” Daniel asked the mechanic making him turn to the other workers there.

“There’s a bar three blocks away, you can just walk there or we can call a cab for you.” one of the mechanics replied. Daniel tried to remember as he knows he’s been around the area before.

“Ah right, there’s that one.” He now recalled and thanked the mechanics. He made sure he has filled in the necessary documents before leaving. He decided to walk despite the cold breeze, it’s really winter soon.

 

Upon arriving at the bar, Daniel roamed around to find a spot. He’s earlier tonight but he’s amazed how he can see familiar faces he saw the last time he was here.

“Waiter.” He called for the long haired one.

“Oh, it’s you again!” Moonbok pointed at the doctor who is caught off guard.

“Do you know me?” Daniel asked.

“Don’t tell me you forgot?!” Moonbok’s brows crease which caused a confusion to the doctor as he tried to recall the waiter’s face.

“I am not going to serve you tonight.” Moonbok suddenly said which made Daniel’s jaw drop.

“Excuse me?!” Daniel snapped as he stood up. He can’t believe a waiter is declining him but before he can speak, someone called the waiter up.

“Moonbok what is going on here?!” a man that looks like on his late thirties or early forties approached them.

“Sir, is there something going on?” Daniel can identify him as the manager with how he looks.

“I am Shindong, the manager of this bar.” Shindong introduced himself as he reached out to shake hands with Daniel when he realized something.

“Oh it’s you!” Shindong pointed at him instead of continuing the handshake which confused Daniel. Did they really remember him for drinking here once?

After a while, it hit him. _Fck, this is where I passed out._

“Sir, I’m asking you again-“

“Ah sorry what did you say?” Daniel didn’t even realize that Shindong was talking to him.

“I was asking if it’s okay for another waiter to serve you? I am sorry for Moonbok’s behaviour earlier.” Shindong repeated. Daniel wanted to complain but Moonbok looks like he can pierce him with his glare and Daniel knows that he must have caused troubles before.

“Do I even have a choice?” Daniel asked with sarcasm which made Shindong sigh.

“I’m going to send over a waiter that will serve you sir, please wait for a while…” Shindong said as he glared at Moonbok.

“And as a compensation, please accept your first three bottles as free of charge.” Shindong added and Moonbok can only groan. Obviously, it will be charged to him because of the behaviour he showed.

“No need, I’m fine.” Daniel has an idea about how it works and of course, he doesn’t want the waiter to pay for his drinks.

“But sir-“

“Just bring me in the waiter so I can give my order.” Daniel cut Shindong off who just nod. The two excused themselves and Daniel returned to sit as he used his phone.

 

“Good evening sir! May I take your order?” Daniel lifted his eyes from his phone only to mirror the same expression from the waiter.

“It’s you!” they said in unison making Daniel chuckle.

“Dr. Kang.” Daehwi greeted.

“You work here too?! Aren’t you still a student?” Daniel’s surprised to see the convenient store worker there.

“I work here too, and I’m of legal age.” Daehwi replied.

“Actually, I’m really bad at names….” Daniel tries to recall the name of the pretty boy who is now going to serve him.

“I’m Daehwi, Lee Daehwi.” Daehwi introduced himself again.

“Nice to meet you again, Daehwi.” Daniel smiled at him.

“Have you met me here before?” Daniel tried to fish out for information on how he passed out. He remembers Jaehwan picking him up and he remember paying Jaehwan and treating him out for dinner because of what he did but he can’t remember anything he did at the bar.

Daehwi’s unsure if he should tell him about his vomiting incident and the reason why Moonbok hates him. He was just called earlier after he served a customer and Shindong told him to serve the customer at table no. 9 so he just did what he was told.

“You were too drunk and passed out.” Daehwi replied.

“Did I do anything wrong? The long haired waiter seemed to be off when he saw me.” Daniel asked.

“Well… you…” Daehwi’s unsure what to say until he heard Daniel sigh.

“Nevermind, I don’t want to hear my drunk story as long as I didn’t hurt anyone… I didn’t right?” Daniel asked this time making Daehwi chuckle.

“You didn’t Dr. Kang.” He replied.

“Stop calling me doctor while I’m here, I might have some patients here and they may find me drunk. I don’t want to ruin my reputation.” Daniel is half joking, half serious with what he said making Daehwi chuckle again.

“Just call me Daniel… you can add hyung if you want.” Daniel replied light heartedly. Daehwi’s took cute that he wants to hear him call him ‘hyung’ and that made Daehwi pin his lips into a think line.

“I can’t call a customer ‘hyung’ I’ll just call you Mr. Kang then.” Daehwi’s answer sounded fair to Daniel though deep inside, he still wants the waiter to call him _hyung_ even once.

“So Mr. Kang, may I take your order? The night is getting deep and more customers will come soon so I need to get moving.” Daehwi asked politely as he doesn’t want to sound disrespectful to the doctor.

“Oh right, my order.” Daniel smiled as he received the menu.

 

 

 

Upon receiving his order, Daehwi left his table to attend to other customer. The bar is a bit crowded tonight.

He ordered a bucket of beer and he got his first bottle. Upon drinking his first big gulp, Daniel can’t help but feel the sensation of the cold beer that pass through his throat. He usually drinks a can or two in his place but nothing beats the kind of vibe he gets when he’s on a bar.

 

“Are you alone?” Daniel’s half awake and half asleep after his second bucket. Daehwi actually gave him a questioning look after he ordered for the second one but of course, he had no choice but to comply and bring him another bucket.

“Yes, why?” Daniel half-ass replied to the girl who is obviously here for pinning, something he never planned to do tonight, again, he just want to forget about his job tonight.

“Do you mind if I accompany you?” the girl asked as she’s almost seated beside him when Daniel reached for a bottle and handed it to the girl.

“Here’s your free bottle, don’t bother seating beside me anymore. Go!” Daniel shooed the girl without even waiting for her to response. He knows that it sounded rude but he’s also aware of the reason why the girl was there in the first place. He can hear the girl talk but he didn’t even care as the music just got louder and his gulp over the cold beer just sends his spine a shiver.

 

It’s a night with a lot of customers, something that is both a burden and a blessing for Daehwi. Burden because he can’t have some rest time but a blessing since more customers means more tips. He’s actually thankful that the management allows them to receive tips but of course, they’re still careful in receiving them.

Upon reaching the bar counter, a smile formed on his face. They’re almost closing as a lot of customers are starting to go home when he turned to look at one of his workmates, Sanggyun who is busy over the phone that is when he saw the form.

“Oh shoot I wasn’t able to have him fill this up!” Daehwi mumbled under his breath as he reached for a form and a pen. Sanggyun’s actually calling the people who can fetch the drunk customers. They let second time customers fill up this form in order to know if who can fetch them in case they go wasted since of course, they value their customer’s safety.

“Daehwi look at him!” he found Moonbok standing in front of table no. 9 while pointing at the passed out doctor.

“He seriously finished those three buckets?!” Moonbok asked and Daehwi’s surprised. The last time he check, he only brought the second bucket, who served him the third bucket? He must have called a different waiter while he was busy.

“He really wanted to be wasted doesn’t he?” Moonbok shakes his head until his attention turned to what Daehwi was holding.

“No sht Daehwi?! You didn’t have him fill that up?!” Moonbok’s eyes widen making Daehwi hush him.

“Shhh! Shindong hyung might hear you!”

“What are you going to do with that man?!” Moonbok pointed at Daniel whose head is resting on his arm on the table while his other hand is holding a half consumed beer bottle.

“I’ll… go check his phone’s speed dial again.” Daehwi nervously gulped making Moonbok shake his head again.

“Shindong hyung closed the bar already, we’re just going to wait for the customers to leave and have them fetch but we’ll start to clean up already.” Moonbok told him as he nod.

“You clean that mess up.” Moonbok pointed at the doctor as he left the scene.

“Why is he drinking so much anyway?” Daehwi can’t help but ask as he walked towards the sleeping doctor. His lips are pouting and he looks so peaceful as if the alcohol answered all his problems in life.

“Mr. Kang… Mr. Kang wake up.” He tried to wake him up again but of course, the doctor slept like a log. He tried to look for the doctor’s phone that’s inside his bag pocket and opened it only to find it dead bat. He headed to their counter and borrowed a charger from Sanggyun to charge the phone. He tried pressing the speed dials only to realize that nothing is happening. _Did he removed the speed dials in his phone?!_

“Daehwi, we only have last two customers, please help me out with table four and five while you wait for the one who will fetch table no. 9.” Moonbok said from across the bar and Daehwi can only say yes. _You’re dead Lee Daehwi._

 

“Mr. Kang… Mr. Kang.” He immediately returned to the sleeping doctor after cleaning up the tables as well as Daniel’s table.

“Should I call the hospital?” Daehwi muttered under his breath but of course, he knows that it’s not right. He doesn’t know how it works but he knows that calling a hospital to fetch one of their drunk doctors is really wrong, may it be with the rules or it may ruin his reputation.

“Daehwi, where is the person who fetch that man?” Shindong asked.

“Didn’t you contact the name he left on the form?” Shindong continued to ask making Daehwi feel his spine shiver. Shindong is nice but he hates it when they miss to do a part of their job properly and he knows that he fcked up over Daniel’s form.

“I did.” Daehwi lied as he bit his inner lip. He can see Moonbok look at him with worried eyes.

“What did the guardian said?”

“Augh… he…” Daehwi knows that his mind should work fast now but he can’t think of a reason.

“I was the one who talked to the guardian, he said that he can’t pick him up now.” Daehwi’s eyes widen upon hearing Sanggyun speak.

“What?!-“

“And he asked for someone to just bring him to their address… so I told him that the attending waiter will bring the customer there.” Sanggyun didn’t let Shindong finish his sentence.

Daehwi can feel his heart beat fast inside, hoping for Shindong to buy what Sanggyun said but of course, what he said is something really far from reality. He doesn’t even know where the doctor lives.

“I see, how about the bill?” Shindong asked.

“Uhm…” Sanggyun’s eyeballs are shaking, he obviously didn’t think of that question.

“The guardian said that I can just print out the bill and he’s going to give me the cash there. I’ll immediately bring in the payment tomorrow night.” Daehwi replied this time. He was never good at lying at work but he knows that lying comes handy at times.

Shindong doesn’t seem like he’s buying it but he turned around to face the employee’s longue.

“Sanggyun, print the bill and give it to Daehwi, I need the money tomorrow when you punch in for work. I’m covering the fees for now.” Shindong instructed before he entered the longue making the three waiters weave a deep sigh of relief.

“Hyung thank you for saving me!” Daehwi immediately thanked the older.

“What are you going to do now?” Moonbok asked.

“I don’t know.” Daehwi replied with a sigh. He doesn’t want to touch the other stuffs of the doctor to at least see his address, he doesn’t feel good doing it at all.

“Bring him home.” Sanggyun suggested which obviously caught the younger off guard. How can he bring a doctor of one of the biggest hospital in Korea to his slowly apartment?!

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” _because he doesn’t belong there._

“You know you can’t touch his stuffs rights?” Moonbok asked and that made Daehwi sigh. Aside from his own principles, it’s also a rule of the management that they can’t touch the stuffs of their drunk and passed out customers as it may cause some troubles in the future, main reason why they have a form for the customers to fill out.

“Is bringing him to my place the only option?” Daehwi asked in a small voice which made the two nod.

“We’ll help you drag him to the cab but that’s the only extent we can do.” Sanggyun replied. Daehwi glanced at the sleeping doctor, too much for resting after a long day.

“Okay.” He whispered.

 

 

After settling everything, Daehwi is now inside the cab with the sleeping doctor beside him. He’s stinking and he hopes that the driver doesn’t complain, he made a mental note to pay him extra when they reach his place. It’s the first time he rode a cab home and it’s with a drunk doctor. Daniel even had to vomit once they reached outside the bar making both Moonbok and Sanggyun irk. He’s 100% sure that Moonbok hates the doctor too much now to the point that if he can block him from entering the bar, he will.

“We’re here.” the driver announced and Daehwi didn’t even notice it. He never thought it was going to be that quick.

“Thank you.” Daehwi paid the driver with a little extra until he realized his next problem. How is he going to bring the man, twice or triple his size up to his place alone?

“Uhm… actually…” Daehwi can’t figure out how to say it until he met the driver’s eyes on the rear view mirror and he heard him chuckle.

“I will help you out young man.” The driver said as he got out of the car making Daehwi thank him a lot of time.

Daehwi had to be careful not to wake anyone up at 5am though others are already starting to wake up at this time. He thanked the driver again and gave him some more tip which he refused saying that it’s his job to keep his passenger safe so Daehwi can only thank heavens for providing the earth with a person like him.

“Now, what should I do with you?” Daehwi stared at the stinky doctor who is now sprawled over his couch. He don’t even know if he’ll be comfortable there but he was already shy to drag the driver inside his room to bring Mr. Kang to his tiny bed. _He should be fine there, he already caused me enough trouble tonight._ Daehwi managed to convince himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel woke up with a sour body, his head is throbbing in pain and what’s even worse is he doesn’t recognize where he is… to add on that, he’s wearing a different clothing from what he can remember. _Where did you get yourself in to Kang Daniel?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update! I know Daniel has a high tolerance for alcohol irl but well, hahaha! 
> 
> How was it?
> 
> comments, kudos and hits are very much appreciated, thank you for reading!
> 
> -irememberyou


	4. FOUR

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

FOUR

 

 

“You’re up!” Daniel’s brought back to reality after hearing the voice that seemed so familiar. He turned to look for the owner of the voice, only to see the pretty boy whom he can clearly recognize.

“Lee Daehwi.” He called for his name and he can see the younger chuckle.

“So you’re fine now?” Daehwi asked.

“What am I doing here? What happened?” Daniel tries to think of his actions but all he can remember are blurry memories.

“Next time you drink, make sure you’re not alone or at least you have someone on your speed dial so I can call someone to pick you up… and it’s half my fault since I forgot to ask you fill in our form so I can call someone if you ever waste yourself which you actually did.” Daehwi replied as he is busy pacing back and forth around his really small kitchen space.

Daniel fell silent as he tries to remember everything. He knows he removed Jisung and Jaehwan from his speed dial after the two just had to pester him the whole day so he removed it in front of them.

“How did I end up here?”

“We rode a cab?” sarcasm is printed all over Daehwi’s face which caused Daniel to make face.

“As your attending waiter, I had the job to make sure you’re home safe or I might be fired but because of the lack of people to call, I had no choice but to bring you to my place since the next option was to leave you on the pavement… I can’t leave a drunk doctor on that state.” Daehwi finally answered it right but still with a little sarcasm making Daniel scratch his nape.

“I also had the option to call the hospital but of course, I don’t want to ruin your reputation or something, you seemed a big shot there.” Daehwi continued to talk.

“Thank you… for not calling.” Daniel managed to reply, he can’t imagine if Daehwi actually called.

“You’re welcome.” Daehwi chuckled.

“My place may be too small for you but I had no choice, come and eat something. I don’t stay here a lot since I’m either at school or at work so I don’t have much in my fridge… but I made something edible.” Daehwi invited him to his small dining table.

Daniel managed to stand up but he had to regain his balance after feeling groggy.

“On top of the table is the form I was talking about, please give me at least three options to call if you ever drink on our bar again. The next paper is the receipt from the cab last night, I don’t want to be that kind of person but every penny means a lot to me and the charge was doubled since it was at dawn.” Daehwi continued talking as he paces back and forth the small kitchen to prepare a coffee.

“And the last paper is the bill, I promised my manager I’ll get the pay in cash so please give it in cash.” Daehwi then placed the cup of coffee and a jar of powdered creamer and a jar of sugar in front of Daniel.

“I don’t know your coffee preference so just mix them up.” He instructed.

Daniel’s getting dizzy with Daehwi walking around, talking and his eyes goes from one paper to another. His eyes then followed Daehwi who grabbed his bag.

“I charged your phone and it’s in your bag.” Daehwi said as he headed to the door.

“Where are you going?” Daniel finally spoke.

“I have something to do and I need to be there before 1pm.” Daehwi replied.

“Please leave the money on top of the table, I’m coming home before I head to the bar so I’ll pick it up from here. Though I trust everyone here, just be sure to lock my door to make sure it’s safe.” Daehwi instructed. Daniel can only look at him confusedly.

“After you eat, just leave the utensils on the sink, I’ll wash them up when I return.” Daehwi’s body is already out of the unit but before he can close the door, he spoke again.

“Oh, and just so you know, you vomited last night and your top stinks so I washed it. I don’t have a dryer so I had it dry inside my toilet, just check it there. You’re wearing my sweater, that’s the largest I can find… in case you ask.” Daehwi continued to speak as Daniel looked down at the sweater he was wearing.

“And lastly, please make sure to turn off all the electricity before you leave, I can’t pay an extra penny for a rise on my electricity bill just in case.” Daehwi’s almost closing the door when Daniel finally found his voice to speak.

“You’re leaving me alone? Inside your place? Do you trust me that much?” Daniel asked only to earn a chuckle from Daehwi.

“Do I trust you? Not really but I have no choice but to leave you here. You’re a doctor, too far from my place in this society, what will you even get from my place? I know it will be safe in your hands so just make sure to follow my instruction before you leave.” Daehwi replied in a matter of fact tone.

“Oh and lastly.”

“Yes?”

“Did you bring your car? If you did, you can pick it up from there but you’ll have to pay for the overnight parking.”

“I didn’t.”

“All cool then, I’m leaving.” Daehwi then headed out without waiting for the doctor to reply. He must admit that he’s uneasy to leave someone alone inside his house, he may not be rich but of course he had some valuables inside but then what is there for the doctor to get?

_He’ll be fine if he follows all my instructions._

For the fourth time, he met the doctor and this time, he was once again a wasted human who finished three buckets of beer all by himself but to top that, he slept on his small couch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel can only imagine how Jaehwan and Jisung will react if they found out how he ended up sleeping on a waiter’s couch after being so wasted.

He chuckled after seeing that Daehwi actually just prepared an instant rice, one side dish and a ramen for him aside from the coffee. The _pretty boy_ is really something. He checked the time, it’s almost 12, reason why he’s starving and why the younger was in a hurry to leave.

Daniel enjoyed the little feast while filling out the form. After eating, he washed the dishes, guilty of having the younger who attended on him to clean it up for him. He then proceeded to Daehwi’s toilet to wash up. It’s so small that he must admit, it’s not even a ¼ size of his own but of course, who was he to complain? His top is also dry and it actually smells good. Though he didn’t want to change from the younger’s sweater, he didn’t want to burden him in washing it so he changed and wash the sweater himself.

He still had a time to spare so he looked around the tiny place. There’s nothing much, it’s seemed true that the younger doesn’t really stay there much as he’s mostly at work or in school. He found an ID at the counter and it’s an ID for a water station. _Don’t tell me he works there too? Just how many jobs does he have?_

Daniel continued to roam around and found some certificates lying on the counter of the small living room.

“He’s from Sungkyunkwan University?” Daniel’s surprised upon seeing the certificates. The _kid_ must be really smart.

“He’s a film student…” Daniel read over the certificates. He knows the demands of being film student, explains why the younger seemed to be really working hard to earn.

 

 

Before he left, he made sure to follow all the instructions and his own note.

 

 

**_Did everything you told me. I washed your sweater and left it hang on your bathroom. I left the payment and some extra for my lodging, breakfast and coffee. Thank you for everything, Lee Daehwi._ **

**_-Daniel._ **

****

****

 

-

 

 

 

Daehwi can’t believe that it’s been a month since the demolition notice. There are only a few of them left in the tenement and they are all expected to leave by the end of the day. Jaehan and Jinwoo left three days ago saying that they’re going back home to Busan and they promised to keep in touch with Daehwi. They were worried of the younger but Daehwi assured them that he found a place… which is a total lie.

He received no news from Sohye in case she found a place and of course, he can’t blame her. He tried to find a place but since it’s almost winter, places are fully booked and there’s no cheap tenement that he can lodge in. He didn’t tell Jihoon or Woojin about it since the two has their own worries on their lives, especially their final outputs for the semester, Daehwi needs to work double time for his own outputs as well but he can only think about that after he finds a new place to stay.

“So I’m leaving you now.” Daehwi sighed as he looked around the place he stayed in right after he was _kicked out_ of the Juvenile Center for being of legal age. He doesn’t have a lot to pack aside from his clothes, school stuffs and of course, the money he’s been trying to raise. He already separated few amounts for a new place but he just can’t find one… that is of his price range.

Daehwi has no place to go and the only thing he has in mind is the old subway where he used to stay when he was younger, the place where he was found by the people from the center. It’s not the best place but he considered it as an option to stay for a few nights until he finds a place. He planned to rent a hostel but most of them are filled with tourists who are planning to witness the first snow. Sauna was an option but he knows how crowded it is during this season.

Daehwi passed by the admin to get his final receipt even with a heavy heart. He can’t believe that he even had to pay some extra charge as he found out that they were actually illegally squatting on the tenement. As much as they wanted to get mad at the so-called owner for the scam that they never knew, they just ended up contributing to the compensation pay so that the owner of the land doesn’t file charges.

 

 

 

As Daehwi walks his way to the subway, he can’t believe what he is seeing.

“Is the first snow really trying to comfort me like this?” he bitterly smiled as he raised his palm. The first snow has come and a lot of people are starting to come out to witness it. He can only sigh.

“I guess, it’s not a bad day after all.” He tried to cheer himself up… but with no vail.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Winter season means a busy ER. A lot of patients are brought in because of the cold weather, sudden sickness, road accidents due to slippery roads and so on and that means, a very busy ER duty to everyone.

“Dr. Jeon I need you to assist me for the trauma patient, two minutes in.” Daniel instructed Somi who was following behind.

“Yes Dr. Kang.” Somi replied as Nayoung started to give them the initial report from the 119 unit. Everyone’s pacing around the ER and it’s been going on for days, they all seemed like zombies dragging themselves to work on a cold weather.

 

 

 

 

“A coffee for your dead soul.” Daniel lifted his head from zoning out to find Sejeong and Nayoung sitting in front of him.

“Your residents are fast asleep at the longue so we figured you’re here.” Sejeong said.

“Thanks for the coffee.” Daniel took a sip. It’s colder now since the first snow happened and he must admit, his throat misses some beer but of course, being intoxicated is the last thought he have for this busy season.

“Do you have plans for Christmas?” Nayoung asked, because of the first snow, a lot of hospital staffs are pumped up for Christmas especially that it’s a practice for departments to put a few decorations to show the Christmas spirit around the hospital.

“I’m on duty.” Daniel replied, as always.

“You’re not going to Busan? Or to Canada?” Sejeong asked.

“I told mom I’m skipping again this year and she said she understands, I just had to promise that I’m going there by January or she’ll disown me.” Daniel chuckled at the memory of talking to his mom.

“And your dad?”

“If it’s this cold here in Korea, what more in Canada?” Daniel asked making the two laugh.

“Dad said I can go on summer next year… if there’s even a difference with the weather there.” Daniel can only shake his head. Having his parents separate since he was young, this has been his set up. As long as he visits them for three days to one week each, it’s fine.

“I don’t know my schedule yet.” Sejeong opened up.

“You must be on a date with that university student, what was his name again?” Daniel teased making the other doctor blush.

“Stop!”

“But-“ before Nayoung can even continue, Sejeong stood up.

“I’m going back to the ER.” And the two just watched her back while laughing.

“She really likes that guy?” Daniel can’t help but ask.

“The guy seemed to be caring for her too, I saw him fetch her several times so I think they’re good.” Nayoung replied.

“That’s odd, someone likes Sejeong.” Daniel muttered making Nayoung laugh.

“You’re so mean to her.” Nayoung stood up.

“I’m heading back now as well. Remember, you’re my on call today so prepare for my call.” Nayoung said as she left with the cup of coffee on hand. Daniel can only shake his head.

He stayed for a little while until a group of teenagers passed by his side while they were eating some chips… chips that looks familiar until he remember that those were the same chips he bought from the convenient store last time.

“I wonder how he is.” And the thought of a certain male named Lee Daehwi entered his mind.

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi can’t believe he’s been on the subway for more almost 2 days now. He was able to sneak in the sauna for two nights but the crowded place felt more uncomfortable than the subway. He’s been freezing cold every night but at least, he got a place to stay. Until now, he’s been doing well with keeping his situation from Jihoon and Woojin. He leaves his things on a private locker that he rented since he doesn’t want to show up in school with all his stuff. He shows up in the convenient store to work then go to the bar at night and then head to either the sauna or the subway.

 “Hey kid.” He’s surprised that someone noticed his presence.

“Ye..s?”

“Do you have heat pads? My feet are freezing.” The male asked and Daehwi nod before he approached the man and handed him two heat pads. One good thing about working on a convenient store is the _convenience_ of getting items and just have those charged under your name which means have it deducted from your pay. Sohyw was actually surprised when he saw Daehwi grab three boxes of heat pads but Daehwi just brushed it off saying that his ‘new place’ is colder than he expected so he needed them. Sohye was actually ‘thankful’ when Daehwi told him that he found a ‘new place’ after being leaving the old one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight is one of those nights when Daehwi needs to find a place to stay. The subway is awefully full which he don’t understand. _Are there a lot of homeless people like I am?_ He can’t help but ask. He feels terrible for how sht he is living right now but of course, he can’t complain, it is his destiny. He hasn’t showed up to either of his work for two days and the water station he worked in actually closed down.

The thought of calling either Jihoon or Woojin has been flashing in his mind for a lot times through these days that he’s been suffering in the cold weather but of course, he opted not to do so. Even if they notice how restless he is at school, he just shrug it off by saying that he’s just tired. Call him prideful but that’s the last thing he wants to do now. Jihoon and Woojin has done more than enough for him, his scholarship, his stuffs in the university, even some of his clothes and shoes are from them. He knows that the two are enjoying some free time so he don’t have the heart to break in… though of course, he knows that it’s his pride that is working in, big time.

_Funny how you only have your pride now, Lee Daehwi._

He can only chuckle for how stupid and crap he is feeling now. He knows his body is quite weak for how cold it is right now so he just want to find a space and sleep now.

 

As he continues to walk, he can feel the hair on his nape rise and he don’t know if it’s because of the cold weather or he can feel someone follow him behind. He hugged his bag tighter as he walk in fast pace but still tried to act natural. _Oh dear God, save me from this situation, I pray._

Daehwi can only whisper a little prayer until he felt a tap on his shoulder which made him flinch.

“Stop right there little, boy, why are you in such a hurry?” the man wasn’t alone. _Fck._

“What do you want?” he tried his best not let his voice crack from fear.

“You don’t seem like you belong on this subway.” The same man asked as he looked at him from head to toe. As much as Daehwi wants to deny, he doesn’t really look like the _rest_ of the people living in the subway, well that’s because he is still able to provide a little for himself at least.

“What do you want from me?” he asked again as he took a step back.

“I’m quite hungry, do you have some extra?” the man asked.

“I don’t have anything with me.” Daehwi replied, voice louder than the usual, hoping for someone to realize his situation and help him out, something he knows that is impossible to happen in this subway.

“Come on, you don’t look like a beggar, are you some kind of prince that runaway from home with some fortune with you?” the voice of the man is obviously a danger and what he is saying is something very far from Daehwi’s situation.

“I am not rich nor am I capable to own anything, I am just like any other person trying to sleep in this subway.” That if the price of the coat he is wearing doesn’t add. Well, it’s a birthday gift from Jihoon.

“Stop playing around and give us your money, prince.” The man tried to pull the bag he is hugging and of course, he doesn’t have any plan to let it go. These are the money he tried his best to raise so he can buy himself a laptop and a camera, essential equipment a film student like him needs.

“Leave me alone!” Daehwi tried to fight back by slapping away the man’s hand only to feel a fist land on his face, something he never saw coming.

_Fck, Daehwi stand up!_

He tried to fight back only to be send again to the floor. There are three of them, he’s alone, almost sick and almost fainted, _oh dear God, send someone to save me._ He can only pray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know.”

“He’s beaten up.”

“He looks like a pretty boy, bring him in.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you questioning me?”

“Yes boss, I’ll carry him.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

Daniel finally has a day off which means, he can take a rest in his place but he planned to get himself some grocery so that at least, his place is full when Christmas comes.

What he didn’t realize is he wasn’t just getting some grocery for himself but his mind is also drifted on a tiny apartment unit of the man that has been bugging his mind off lately.

 

“He must be busy working and with school since finals must be approaching.” Daniel can’t help but smile as he pulled off the familiar area but he’s surprised not to see the old tenements that he saw a month ago. _What happened here?_

He immediately got out of his car as he approached someone.

“Excuse me.” He greeted.

“Yes?”

“Is this where the old tenements stand before?” he don’t if he asked the right question as the worker looked at him with brows crease.

“Ah yes.” The worker shortly replied.

“What happened?”

“The tenants were given a month notice for the demolition. A 20 billion project is set to be built in this area so they were asked to evacuate.” The worker replied which suddenly sent worry down Daniel’s spine.

“Do you know where the tenants were moved?”

“They were technically… how do I say this?” the worker paused until he taught of a term.

“Illegally staying here… ah squatting, yeah, they were squatting so the owner didn’t have anything to do with them, they just had to pack their things and move out.” The worker replied as if it was the easiest thing to say which somehow sent anger on Daniel but he tried to calm himself down.

“Thank you.” he ddin’t want to talk the worker anymore or he might break lose.

“Where is Daehwi then?” Daniel asked himself as he glanced at the grocery he bought for him at the back seat. He wanted to hit himself for actually forgetting to get the younger’s number when he had the chance.

He don’t know why but the worry inside him is growing the thought of not knowing where Daehwi was. Sohye’s reply to him when he arrived at the convenient store didn’t help him out either.

“Oh my God where could Daehwi be?!?” the girl gasp after realizing that it could be the reason why Daehwi’s been a no show for quite a few days now.

“Do you know anyone we can contact?” Daniel asked. He’s no one in his life but the worry inside him is instantly growing. Is it because the younger looked after him on his wasted state? He have no idea.

“I only know his friends on first name basis, I don’t have their numbers either.” Sohye replied in a sad tone which frustrated Daniel.

“Do you have his number?” Daniel asked.

“I’ve been trying to call him since he’s been absent for a few days and it’s unusual for him to do that but he isn’t answering so I figured that moving in a place must not be easy at all.” Sohye innocently replied.

“Wait, I’ll get my phone.” Sohye entered a room and came out immediately with her phone on hand.

“Here is his number, please tell me if he contacts you.” Sohye handed her phone to Daniel so he can copy Daehwi’s number.

“Thank you, I will.” And Daniel left the store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Daehwi filed a leave few days ago and he hasn’t showed up yet. He said that he’s busy moving in a new place.” Sanggyun replied after Daniel introduced himself. The bar hasn’t opened yet so he had some time to go out only to find the doctor looking around. He recognized him as the wasted customer that Daehwi brought home after getting a closer look.

“Do you know if we can find someone to call and ask if where he is? Family member? Friends?” Daniel asked with a hint of despair in his voice. He’s been worked up in finding him, he hasn’t even slept a wink since he left the hospital earlier. He went to grocery, tried to find Daehwi in his non existent tenement, the convenient store and now the bar. Earlier, he passed by the water station that he remembered from the ID he found in Daehwi’s place only to find it closed down already.

Sanggyun paused for a moment to think.

“Daehwi doesn’t say much about himself but I know that he stayed in the Juvenile Center until he was on legal age.” Sanggyun replied, unsure if he should be sharing this information about his co-worker. What Sanggyun said made Daniel pause. Juvenile Center? Is he orphaned or something? Only Daehwi can answer.

“He has two friends who waited for him to end with work before, they’re his classmates and if I remember his story right, they are also his friends inside the center.” Sanggyun tries his best to squeeze out whatever story Daehwi has shared before.

“Do you know them? Number?”

“I don’t know them, they stopped coming over when Daehwi told them to do so. I have the employees log but Daehwi doesn’t have anyone written on his emergency person.” Sanggyun replied in a sorry tone which sent frustration to Daniel.

_Where are you, Lee Daehwi?_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daehwi ran as fast as he could as he entered the elevator. He hurriedly pressed the ground button, it’s the safest place he can think of right now as he knows that it’s a place that can never be empty so he can ask for help. His heart is beating so fast until he realized that the elevator tinged and it’s not the ground yet. _Oh no!_

He’s supposed to press the close button without minding whoever wanted to enter but his eyes widen upon seeing who it was.

_Dear God, thank you for sending someone to save me._

For the fifth time he met Kang Daniel and this time, he feels like a total crap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This fic hit 100 kudos thank you very much! I'm sorry for the late update, was a bit busy but here it is now! <3 I hope you like it!  
> Comments, kudos and hits are very much appreciated. <3
> 
> -irememberyou


	5. FIVE

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

FIVE

 

Daehwi opened his eyes with a throbbing head and a painful body. He immediately realized the unfamiliar place as he tried to figure out what happened. _Oh fck my stuffs!_ He finally remembered how he was robbed and beaten up at the subway. He doesn’t remember anything after that as he realized that he must have passed out.

_Where am I?_

He tried to look around as he gulped, the place doesn’t feel right at all. It’s clean, everything’s white but his heart his pounding and he knows his instincts are telling him to get himself out of the place. He don’t know why but he knows that he should do it.

He looked down to find himself in a different clothing but it doesn’t look right, there is a number taped near his chest 129 and whatever is the reason behind the number, he’s afraid to know.

As he’s supposed to open the door, the door just swung open sending him butt flat on the floor.

“Oh you’re awake.” It’s an unfamiliar man, he’s not sure if he’s even someone who is with the men who robbed him.

“Where am I?” Daehwi asked in a hoarse voice.

“How can someone sleep for two days straight?” the man asked in a tone that Daehwi can’t decipher but his eyes widen upon seeing a gun holster at the left side of the man. It’s really a sign of danger.

“Where am I?” he asked again, this time, he tried to stand up again despite having a wobbly legs.

“You’re waiting to be exported.” The man simply replied which gave a huge shock on Daehwi. _Exported?!_

“What do you mean?”

“And you actually expect me to explain?” the man asked in a bored tone as he approached him making Daehwi take a step back until dead end.

“You’re not in some kind of dramas, no one’s going to save you even if you’re planning to shout or something.” The man spoke before he can even open his mouth. Right, this is not some kind of their production set where one of his classmates can just should ‘cut’ and the scene ends. Fck, he’s in an actual situation right now and he can’t believe he even thought of that.

“P… please let me go.” His voice stuttered as he started to shake.

“You have no idea if how many times I have heard of that, can’t victims like you think of other lines to say?” the man looks bored until he rolled his eyes and before Daehwi can even think of what to do next, he decided to kick the man on where it hurts the most and stepped on his foot hard to send him down the floor, wailing in pain.

Daehwi didn’t think anymore as he ran out of the room only to find more people with gun and he knows that he can die anytime now. _Oh dear God, please send someone to save me please._

He can only pray as he tried to fight back three more men outside the room. He broke a vase on the head of the other, he hit the other with a chair and he threw a frame on the other one. He saw some other people he couldn’t recognize but he didn’t have time to pry as he ran outside only to be hit on his face. Daehwi can feel his vision becoming blurry but he can’t back out now, if he dies now, he’ll die because he fought back… that’s in thoughts.

He kicked on the man that hit him and pushed him to the other one. Daehwi ran as fast as he could as he entered the open elevator. He didn’t even manage to see which floor he was in as he hurriedly pressed the ground button, it’s the safest place he can think of right now as he knows that it’s a place that can never be empty so he can ask for help…. That if he figured his location right that he’s in an apartment tower or something close to that. He can only pray.

His heart is beating so fast until he realized that the elevator tinged and it’s not the ground yet. _Oh no!_

He’s supposed to press the close button without minding whoever wanted to enter but his eyes widen upon seeing who it was.

 

“Daehwi?!” Daniel can’t believe his eyes, there, Daehwi stands inside the elevator looking like a total beaten up human.

“What happened-“

“Dr. Kang! Dr. Kang save me! Help me Dr. Kang!” Daehwi’s shaking, tears breaming to fall from his eyes as he ran out of the elevator and threw himself to Daniel who immediately caught him before he could fall. Before Daniel can even speak, the other elevator tinged.

“Please! Please get me out of here! Please!” Daehwi’s crying, shaking and Daniel can feel his adrenaline rush as he didn’t think twice in pulling Daehwi away from the elevator but he made sure to press the elevator button again, hoping to create a little confusion and buy some time.

He immediately opened his apartment and pulled Daehwi inside.

To his surprise, Daehwi ran to the corner and hugged himself. Daniel can’t even think straight as he called for security and the police, reporting for an emergency case.

It didn’t even take two minutes before a commotion happened outside. Daniel can see some through his monitor until he realized that he haven’t checked on Daehwi again.

He walked towards the corner where Daehwi hid, he’s still there, shaking, sobbing and that broke his heart.

“Daehwi.” He called him, as soft as he could.

“Daehwi it’s me, Dr. Kang.” It’s awkward to address himself that way but he hopes that it could sooth the younger who eventually raised his head which shattered Daniel inside. Daehwi had bruises and his eyes are so red from crying.

“You’re safe now, whatever happened, you’re safe now… I’m here.” he softly whispered as he pulled Daehwi into his embrace. He suddenly felt so protective over the guy he met a few times, right now, he just looks so fragile, so soft.

“Shh…” he made white noises to sooth him up until he heard his doorbell ring, he can feel Daehwi tense up in his embrace.

“Don’t worry… I’ll go check, stay here.” Daniel said as he let go of Daehwi and he suddenly felt cold, he doesn’t even know why. Daehwi just gave him a little nod as he returned to his previous position and hugged himself tighter. Daniel gave him one last look before he headed to his door.

_Dear God, thank you for sending someone to save me._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Why did I even agree to bring you here without having you treated? What kind of a doctor am I?” Daniel muttered under his breath as Daehwi looked at him weakly with a faint smile on his face. He doesn’t know why but that faint smile somehow lifted some worry in his heart. The doorbell earlier was from the security, an indication that it was over.

Six men were caught staying at one of the units on the 28th floor with several other victims that were object for human trafficking and that includes Daehwi. Daniel can’t believe he’s staying in a unit with something that is happening like that.

The six men were caught red handed and are now being questioned to reveal the boss of the human trafficking business. The victims are all subject for psychological test and treatment. What baffled Daniel out is the fact that among them, Daehwi looks like the most beaten up.

“I don’t know but I think they are different from the set of men who robbed and hit me in the subway.” Daehwi whispered when the police asked about his wounds and that actually sent anger down to Daniel’s spine. How could all of these happen to a fine young man like him?

“Which subway?” the police’s question actually tensed Daehwi up. Revealing the subway means taking away the place where people like him stay for he’s sure that the police will search it and have the people staying there leave.

“Go on, tell me.” Daniel’s words soothed him as he look at him with so much sympathy, it doesn’t feel real. Daehwi gulped as he gave more information as Daniel was just right there, silently seated beside him.

“Thank you so much for everything Dr. Kang. Allow us to escort you to the hospital so we can have Mr. Lee checked.” The police said after everything that felt like eternity. There were times that Daehwi dozed off at the side and Daniel is lying if he’ll say that he’s not worried to death over the situation of the younger now. He’s been telling him that he can stop anytime and they can have him checked first but Daehwi’s too strong willed to reject and say that he’s fine, that he needs to make sure that everyone at fault should rot in jail so Daniel didn’t even continue anymore.

“For the apartment tower, it is going to be under a special investigation unit unit that will check everything to see what else is going on inside it. We have already sent a message to the media and they are now going to do their part.” The police continue to speak.

“And don’t worry, I have everything covered about Mr. Lee and your information. Your name will never be leaked despite everything.” The police assured him.

“Thank you very much sir.” Daniel expressed his gratitude.

“I already have someone to call for 119, they are on their way here to escort you to the hospital.” The police said.

“Daehwi just wait a little more.” Daniel turned to face the younger who is following behind with his huge coat covering him.

“Dr. Kang I’m-“ and before Daehwi can speak even more, Daniel found himself catching the younger in his arms.

“Daehwi! Daehwi! Wake up!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Daniel don’t worry, he’s safe.” Jisung touched his shoulder to calm him down. For the first time today, he suddenly felt so numb. After Daehwi fainted, he can’t remember how he was frantically calling his name until 119 arrived. He was able to help out with the initial procedure inside the ambulance but when they arrived in the hospital, his mind just went blank. He found himself being dragged by Jaehwan out of the scene and he can’t even remember what happened next.

“It was fatigue, stress, the wounds, he hasn’t eaten anything too. I had everything checked on him.” Jisung continued to speak.

“And I was worried after you finally told us about what happened so I had him checked on that and don’t worry… he was never touched.” Jisung’s the only one speaking as Daniel tries to regain himself.

“You look pale, do you need anything?” Jisung asked as he noticed how the doctor looks like a total crap.

“I’m fine.”

“Jaehwan’s coming over to bring you some food, I bet you haven’t eaten anything yet. Don’t worry, everything’s fine now, the young man is safe too.” Jisung assured one last time before he excused himself.

 

 

 

Daniel found himself outside Daehwi’s room. He made sure to have him under a great care by writing his name as his guardian. He found a nurse checking on Daehwi’s vitals when he entered.

“I’ll get going now, Dr. Kang.” The nurse said as she excused herself. Daniel made his way towards the bed. For the first time today, Daehwi looks so peaceful. He looks pale, gauze and bandages on some areas of his face and body, an IV on his hand, and if recalls it right, he looks thinner than the last time he saw him in his apartment, he can only sigh.

_I can’t believe how much I was worked up because of you Lee Daehwi._

A small smile formed on his lips as he checked on his IV before fixing the blanket over the younger. Two days ago, he frantically looked for him everywhere. Two days later, he found him in his embrace asking for help and now here he is, sleeping on the hospital bed on the hospital he is working at. It was such a ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**_Daniel he’s awake._ **

****

Those were the only words he had to receive to send him running towards Daehwi’s room without even minding the people’s look at how weird he looks like but well, doctors run around the hospital when there’s an emergency right?

 

 

He wants to rewind the time and at least, have himself open the door slowly instead of slamming it open, earning the attention of everyone inside the room.

“Dr. Kang.” Those were the only thing that matters, Daehwi’s voice sounded louder than it was three days ago. The younger was asleep for three days which actually worried him but of course, he knows that it was something natural for someone who underwent what he did.

“How are you?” Daniel asked, obviously ignoring Sejeong who had her hands buried in her coat’s pocket and Jaehwan who is ready to hit Daniel with the ipad he’s holding.

“I’m fine, hungry.” Daehwi giggled a little which sent relief down his spine.

“Jaehwan, just hand him the ipad and let’s leave.” Sejeong spoke to ruin the perfect moment making Jaehwan laugh while Daniel rolled his eyes.

“How is he?”

“He asked for water when he woke up, if that helps.” Sejeong replied making Jaehwan laugh louder this time earning a glare from Daniel. Daehwi just looked down shyly.

“Okay fine? Everything is normal, he must have rested and regained some energy when he was asleep. He’s still a bit weak but I can allow him to eat food, I’ll be the one to inform the kitchen, aside from that, I’ll be transferring his files to you since I know, Jisung and I won’t be of any use to you anymore.” Sejeong finally replied making Daniel release a chuckle.

“Thank you Sejeong.” Daniel replied.

“Here get this, I’m on duty so you can call me if you need anything. It’s either Nayoung or I who is looking after him so don’t worry.” Jaehwan handed him the Ipad.

“Thank you.”

“Thank Dr. Kim, Nurse Kim.” Daehwi expressed his gratitude after reading their names on their nameplate.

“You’re welcome young man.” Jaehwan raised his hand for a high five which Daehwi responded.

“Be well quick so you won’t have to stay longer in the hospital, I know you don’t like it here, no one does.” Sejeong said with a warm smile.

“And don’t worry about the food, the kitchen doesn’t make ugly food you see on dramas, our kitchen serves the best food for our patient.” Sejeong’s PR made Daehwi laugh.

It took a call from the nurse’s station and Sejeong to pull Jaehwan out with her for the two to finally leave.

“You look like you rested well, I’m glad.” Daniel smiled at the younger.

“I troubled you so much didn’t I?” Daehwi asked shyly as he looked down.

“No of course not!” Daniel raised his voice a little making him mouth a little sorry after he realized it.

“I was worried about you so I looked for you when I found out your tenement was demolished.”

“You looked for me?!” Daehwi’s eyes widen upon hearing what Daniel said which made the doctor want to hit himself for revealing that. And here he thought that Daehwi was talking about that ‘trouble’

“Well…” Daniel scratched his nape.

“I can’t believe you stayed at the subway for days!” Daniel tried to diver the topic which actually was a wrong move as Daehwi looked down again.

“Oh… sorry.”

“I can remember the police said that they’ll check on the subway, did they find anything?” Daehwi asked, hoping for some miracle.

“They found two of your bags, one with school stuffs and the other with your clothes… it’s with me now since I listed myself as your guardian.” Daniel replied as he can Daehwi faintly sigh.

“I’m sorry they couldn’t find your bag with your valuables.” Daniel gave him an apologetic look.

“It was bound to happen.” Daehwi sighed again.

“Do you want to call your friends? How about school?” Daniel asked.

“Shouldn’t you ask me to call my family first?” Daehwi asked back and that sent Daniel to silence. It didn’t take a few seconds for Daehwi’s expression to change.

“So you know.” He chuckled bitterly.

“Your co-worker… Sanggyun told me about how you’re from the Juvenile Center.” Daniel admitted.

“So Sanggyun hyung listened to my stories.” A smile formed on his face.

“Do you want me to call you friends or do you want to just borrow my phone instead?” Daniel asked as he passed his phone to Daehwi who gave it a little push back to him.

“No thanks, I’ll tell them when I’m out of here. Those two are the most hysterical and dramatic persons I know, I can’t handle the embarrassment of them making a scene here…. just… no.” Daehwi shakes his head which made Daniel laugh as if Daehwi is actually imagining it. On the other side, he knows that if Woojin and Jihoon knows what happened to him now, they’ll make a settlement on who will look after him and where will he stay MWF, TThSS or something in between and Daehwi doesn’t like that. He has caused them enough troubles.

“Don’t you think they’re worried that they can’t reach you?” Daniel asked.

“They will but I have been telling them I’m busy with work in between classes… they’re both busy too so let’s keep it that way.” As much as Daniel doesn’t want to admit, he has a hint of pity to Daniel but he tries his best to just give him enough sympathy instead. He knows that pity is the last thing that Daehwi needs right now.

“How is the case by the way?” Daehwi is obviously changing the topic.

“So much happened in three days, you wouldn’t believe it.” Daniel started off his story. The police couldn’t have the six men they caught to speak but another report has ended the entire story when the head of the human trafficking business was caught during the transfer of the persons they plan to ‘export’ to Hong Kong was raided by the police. A lot of people were caught and Daniel can’t believe that what happened to Daehwi actually lead for the police to catch two of the biggest human traffickers in the country that has a huge amount of money on their heads. That sent Daehwi relief, especially that he learned how a lot of other people his age and some are even younger were saved from it. They were going to be used as human mule to export drugs from one country to another. Daehwi can’t even imagine how he got himself in that situation but what matters now is he’s safe.

 

“When will I be discharged, Dr. Kang?” Daehwi asked this time.

“Until you’re all healed.” Daniel simply replied.

“But that will cost me fortunes and I’m obviously penniless now and I have school to attend, it’s almost our finals.” Daehwi sighed. All the money he tried to save are all gone.

“Please allow me to call over the NGO that helps me to school, they can help me with my health insurance.” Daehwi said. Daniel wanted to protest and say that he’s actually free of charge after he wrote his name under him but he knows that Daehwi will obviously decline the offer. The way he sees it, the young one values his pride and he doesn’t want to disrespect that.

“Okay, I’ll ask either nurse Jaehwan or nurse Nayoung to help you out with that.” Daniel replied with a reassuring smile.

“Thank you Dr. Kang.”

“Daehwi.”

“Hmm?”

“We’re not in your work so why are you still not calling me hyung?”

“Because we’re in the hospital, Dr. Kang.” Daehwi replied with a little giggle, obviously, he lost. Daniel can only shake his head.

The arrival of the kitchen staff was the sign for Daniel to leave. Daehwi must admit that he wanted the doctor to stay since he felt alone in the huge room but he didn’t bother to stop him from leaving as he knows that he has troubled hi enough, eating alone some hospital wouldn’t be some pain right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Do you have a place to stay?” Daehwi can’t believe he’s been in the hospital for almost five days and he’s not planning to consume all his health insurance into paying the suite room he’s in. He was able to call their department and told them that he was involved in an incident and is hospitalized but made them promise to keep it as a secret. Only his teachers were informed, with the promise of not telling anyone of his situation as well. He prays that Jihoon or Woojin wouldn’t find out, he just doesn’t want to burden them over him now. His teachers sent emails for the things he needed to work on and as long as he can submit them on time, he doesn’t have to worry about his absences since he’s a good performing student.

He’s more than well now, he can already walk around, eat on his own and even carry some stuffs (which made him receive a great nagging from nurse Nayoung and nurse Jaehwan, saying that they’ll receive a great nagging as well from Dr. Kang if he finds out that Daehwi walked around alone at the hospital garden and helped some patients carry their stuffs) and that made Daehwi sure that he’s too well to even stay there for another night.

“I don’t but I can find one.” An obvious lie.

“Daniel didn’t agree with me passing you under his care so as your attending doctor, I’ll only sign your discharge papers if you have a place to stay.” Sejeong replied as she stood up. Jisung was the one who looked after Daehwi when he arrived at the ER then Sejeong took him under his care since Jisung’s too loaded already and during that time, Daniel wasn’t on his right state of mind and even recently, Daniel didn’t agree for Sejeong to move Daehwi under him.

“But-“

“No buts patient Lee, I’m going now, my break is almost over.” And Sejeong managed to leave despite the cute pout on Daehwi’s face. Daehwi is no longer just her patient, just like Daniel, he’s her friend, like a younger brother and he wants the best for him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel’s surprised to find Sejeong inside his office, reading some folders from his desk.

“Who allowed you to touch on my patient’s profile?” Daniel asked as he entered his office

“I was bored while waiting for you. You went out, where were you from?” Sejeong asked.

“Out.” Daniel simply replied earning a glare from Sejeong.

“I came because of Daehwi.” That made a change of expression on Daniel’s face.

“Before you panic, there’s nothing wrong with him… actually, everything is perfect about him that he can be discharged anytime of the day now.” Sejeong continued.

“Then you sign his discharge papers? The NGO agreed to just pay half of the price so Daehwi can still avail the supposed free hospitalization for being under my name.” Daniel replied.

“But he doesn’t have a place to stay.” Sejeong replied in a matter of fact tone which is something that Daniel knows.

“What do you suggest?”

“Let him stay in your place.” Sejeong’s reply made Daniel’s brows meet. Is he really hearing it from her?

“Are you sick?”

“Do I look pale?”

“You look normal.”

“So what do you think?” and obviously, Daniel’s at lost.

“I’m just surprised that you suggested that and believe me, I had that in mind all this time.” Daniel replied.

“Then why didn’t you say it? I could have signed the discharge papers two days ago!”

“Because I know Daehwi wouldn’t like it okay? That young man thinks he troubled me enough and hearing me invite him to my place to stay, how do you think will he respond? He doesn’t even want to call his friends.” Daniel sounded defeated.

“So it’s a pride over matter situation… I see.” Sejeong pouted a little. She have seen a lot of cases like this and she just feels bad but she knows that if she’s in their situation, she don’t think she’ll be able to swallow her pride as well… if that’s the only think that she has.

“Ask him this time, he doesn’t have a place to go unless he finally decided to call his best friends who will cause a hysteria at our sacred hospital.” Sejeong suddenly said after she took a deep breath and tried as he recalled one of Daehwi’s stories.

“And I told him I’m not going to sign his discharge papers unless he finds a place to stay.” Sejeong added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“But this is not where your place is.” Daehwi looked out of the window.

“I moved out... four days ago.” Daniel nonchalantly replied.

“You what?!!”

“I moved to this place, four days ago, it’s a gift from my dad so I didn’t even spent a single penny, in case you ask.” Daniel replied as he opened the back door to the only two bags of Daehwi that survived.

“Wow, this place… I can only see it on movies and news.” Daehwi can’t help but be in awe as he looks at one of the biggest _and expensive_ apartment towers in Korea.

“Let’s go in, it’s cold here.” of course, the winter breeze is still freezing and Daehwi can’t believe he’s going to say this but he actually missed it. After being inside the hospital that even had a centralized heater even on their garden, Daehwi must admit that the hospital gave him enough warmth for 10 good days he was there.

 

 

“Welcome to your new home, Lee Daehwi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading the fic! I've been so into nielhwi these days that I have created more chapters than I expected. hehehe. 
> 
> Kudos, hits and comments are greatly appreciated.
> 
> How was it? :)
> 
> -irememberyou


	6. SIX

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

 

SIX

 

“That doesn’t make sense, I already troubled you enough.” Daehwi’s been protesting for 30 minutes now which made Daniel take a deep breath.

“I never said you’re troubling me though, take this as my compensation for making me sleep at your place when I was a wasted bastard.” Daniel replied.

“You paid me enough already.”

“Pay for the rent then, if that will settle this argument.”

“This is not an argument.” Daehwi’s rebut made Daniel stand up from his seat and walk towards his bed.

“Okay fine Patient Lee, this is not an argument… this is a conversation between a property consultant and a target customer.” As a doctor, Daniel has always been patient but Daehwi’s a different thing… he’s really something.

“And I am offering you a place to rent, all in, board and lodging, complete amenities plus grocery… name your price and we’ll settle with that and you can stay until you find a new place.” He continued to talk as Daehwi remained in silence.

“If your attending doctor knows about this, she’ll sign your discharge paper immediately. I’m helping you get out of this sick place and find a new place to stay… this can also result for you to go back to your work… that if they’ll still have you.” Daniel added though he finds it weird for Daehwi to be silent.

That’s right, Daehwi’s not sure if he still has a job to go back to. The convenient store is always open for part timers like him so it’s so easy to kick him out for being absent… and for the bar… it’s always up to Shindong, the water refilling station has closed down so that’s out of the list.

“How much will it cost me to stay at your place?” Daehwi carefeully asked which caused Daniel to smirk.

“Name your price, something that can work with you and your budget. I know your situation now Daehwi, let’s just make it work according to your pace.” Daniel replied softly.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” _I don’t really know, Daehwi._

“I’m a doctor, every patient in your situation makes me think of these options if they need one… it’s just that, I know you more than the patients.” Daniel buried his hands inside the pocket of his doctor’s coat.

“Not that personal but casually.” He added.

“Can I think about it first?”

“Take your time… if you still want to stay here.” Daniel replied with a smile.

“Thank you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“I’m sorry you had to wait for my out.” Daniel apologized as he entered the driver’s seat.

“It’s fine, I should thank you.”

“You already did, a lot of times actually.” Daniel chuckled.

“I can’t clearly remember your place, all I remember is…” and Daehwi just sighed making Daniel glance at him.

“Are you okay? Even if the psychiatrist said you’re fine, we can always ask them to check you again…” Daniel worriedly asked. Daehwi was also conversed with a psychiatrist to check if there is any trauma caused by what happened to him but the test came out normal.

“No, I’m okay… the memory will stay for a long time but I’ll be fine.” Daehwi slightly smiled as he looked out of the window. It’s almost night time and Seoul’s always a happy place for everyone, especially during winter but Daehwi can’t help but imagine his situation now if he’s still at the subway… and that reminded him of his friends. _Sht! Woojin and Jihoon are going to kill me!_

“Dr. Kang.”

“We’re not in the hospital Daehwi.”

“Mr. Kang.” He corrected himself.

“We’re not in your job, call me hyung, it’s alright.” Daniel’s tone is full of assurance which made Daehwi take a deep breath.

“Hyung.”

“You sound so defeated calling me hyung.” Daniel chuckled as Daehwi just pinned his lip into a line.

“Give me a break.” He rolled his eyes.

“Okay what is it?” Daniel can’t help but chuckle.

“Can I borrow your phone later? I just want to call my friends… just until I can get a new phone.” Daehwi asked.

“You’re ready to call them now? What will you tell them?” Daniel can’t help but ask.

“I’ll think about that later.”

“Sure, you can use my phone or I have a landline at home, you can use that as well.” Daniel replied.

“Thanks.”

The car ride is then filled with silence and Daniel just let it be. He thinks that Daehwi’s just gathering his senses up after everything that happened to him. He’s quite worried but he just hopes that everything will turn out fine with the younger who has actually grew closer to him now.

Daehwi’s busy zoning out of the window until he noticed that they turned on a very familiar road that he’s really aware of, heck he have seen it on the television a lot of times.

Daehwi’s eyes widen even more when they pulled over the open parking lot.

“But this is not where your place is.” Daehwi looked out of the window. He doesn’t clearly remember everything but he knows it’s a different place from where the incident happened 10 days ago.

“I moved out... four days ago.” Daniel nonchalantly replied.

“You what?!!”

“I moved to this place four days ago, it’s a gift from my dad so I didn’t even spent a single penny, in case you ask.” Daniel replied as he opened the back door to the only two bags of Daehwi that survived.

“Wow, this place… I can only see it on movies and news.” Daehwi can’t help but be in awe as he looks at one of the biggest _and expensive_ apartment towers in Korea.

“The last place I had is not safe… after what happened to you, I actually think that there are other things happening there that we don’t know so I decided to move out before something even happens.” Daniel paused.

“Let’s go in, it’s cold here.” of course, the winter breeze is still freezing and Daehwi can’t believe he’s going to say this but he actually missed it. After being inside the hospital that even had a centralized heater even on their garden, Daehwi must admit that the hospital gave him enough warmth the entire time he was there.

 

 

“Good evening Mr. Kang!” the receptionist greeted.

“Good evening.” Daniel replied and Daehwi paid respect to the receptionist as well.

“This is Lee Daehwi, the one I signed up the other day. Please get his biometrics and physical scan so we can get going.” Daniel instructed which confused Daehwi as he glanced at him. Daniel smiled as he patted his shoulder.

“It’s their security measures, once they get your biometrics and physical scan, you can come in and out of the tower even from the basement. This is why we needed to pass by the main entrance now.” Daniel explained making Daehwi awkwardly nod.

“Mr. Lee please follow me, it’s going to be quick.” The receptionist said and Daehwi didn’t even get to reply.

Everything happened in five minutes and again, Daehwi’s amazed by how everything works in the world of the rich, something he can never relate in to.

When they came out of the security room, Daehwi found Daniel with his eyes closed at one of the couches.

He took a deep breath before approaching him and patted his shoulder.

“Mr.- hyung…” he whispered and it immediately opened Daniel’s eyes.

“It’s done?” Daniel asked with a smile.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, let’s go.” Daniel stood up and picked up Daehwi’s bag before he can pick them up.

“I’ll hold the other one.” Daniel didn’t bother to reply and just handed Daehwi the other bag.

“We’ll live at the 29th floor. There’s a 24/7 security every floor and no one can easily come in, everyone needs to pass by the main entrance. There’s a shopping center at the adjacent tower so you can always go there if you need anything… and I mean, anything.” Daniel started to orient Daehwi while they wait for the elevator to reach their floor.

“If something goes wrong with anything inside the unit, you can always call for the maintenance, everything is one press away from the monitor TV so you can just explore that one later on.” Daniel continued until the elevator opened.

“There’s only three units in this floor, I don’t really know them but I was informed that the other unit is owned by a university student and the other is by a lawyer, you won’t really need to interact with them but just in case you wanna know that information.” Daniel said as he walked towards his door.

Daehwi gulped as his eyes wandered around. The floor has its own lobby, the entrance door for each unit are far from one another, Daehwi saw three security personnel who greeted them, there’s a janitor cleaning near the elevator, the decals all over the floor is too good to be true, one can already film a short film just the moment the elavtor opens... he just can’t believe he’ll be living in this place.

“Daehwi.” His thoughts were brought back to reality when Daniel called him.

“Anything you wanna ask?” Daniel asked.

“Nothing.”

“Let’s go in.” Daehwi gulped again.

The moment he entered the unit, he just want to back out.

“Welcome to your new home, Lee Daehwi.”

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been 30 minutes since he’s seated on his new bed and heck, he can already doze off from here but of course, his mind is too busy thinking about everything that he can’t figure out what to do first.

_Am I really sure about this?_

He finds it amusing as how he actually ended up accepting a help from a _not-so-stranger_ just because he didn’t want to bother the people who knows him personally. All his life, he’s been a burden to people, to the juvenile volunteers, the other teenagers there, to Woojin and Jihoon… and now here he is, starting another life as a burden to someone he just met few months ago.

“Daehwi.” His train of thoughts were distracted when Daniel knocked from the door.

“Come in.” and Daniel’s head popped in from the opening.

“It’s dinner time and I don’t really have a lot of things inside my fridge so… will take out be fine?” Daniel asked.

“Anything’s good.” Daehwi replied.

“Sorry I can’t offer you anything better for your first dinner here.” Daniel apologized which made Daehwi stand up and approach him.

“No hyung, this is more than enough… I don’t even know if I deserve to be here, I promise to check on my job and move out as soon as I can.” Daehwi’s reply made Daniel shake his head.

“You don’t have to hurry yourself, treat this place as yours as long as you can, I don’t usually go home so…” Daniel’s unsure on what to say but the thought of Daehwi leaving immediately just doesn’t seem right for him.

 

 

 

 

Daehwi finds it awkward while looking around the house. Daniel surrendered right after dinner saying he can’t take the sleepiness anymore and apologized that he can’t help out with anything that Daehwi needs but the younger assured him that everything is fine. The doctor is busy, he’s tired and this is the only time he can rest so Daehwi dismissed him to his room.

He finished cleaning up the take out meal and the kitchen is just too good to be true compared to the kitchen he had on his old apartment as well as the Juvenile Center’s kitchen. Everything screams sophistication and it’s clean… a little bit different from how Daniel’s hospital office looks like. _Maybe it’s because he just moved in._

“This place looks so big for one person, rich people really invests on places like this.” He can’t help but comment.

He spent another 10 minutes roaming around seeing the toilet, the laundry room, the mini library, the entertainment room (which left him in awe) and the balcony had a breath taking view. There’s another extra guest room apart from what Daehwi will use and that just amazed him more. Just how rich can this person be?

When he entered his room, a new feeling overwhelmed him and he can only hope that he’ll get used to it quick.

“Clean up and fix your things Daehwi, it’s going to be a long day for you tomorrow.” He can only build up his own courage.

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

“Any news?” Jihoon’s pacing back and forth and Woojin just want to pull him down to seat but of course, he knows better so he just let him be.

“I contacted everyone I can talk to but no one knows where he is.” Woojin replied.

“I am surely going to let him get a taste of his own medicine after this! Just wait and see Lee Daehwi!” Jihoon frustratingly ran his fingers through his hair as he glances at his phone. No calls, no texts, no chat from Daehwi for almost 2 weeks, he’s worried as hell. He’s absent from their classes but their teachers seemed to not care… even if they’re actually talking about the A+ student, Lee Daehwi.

“The admin of the old apartment building said that Daehwi has left few days before the date of the demolition, where could he be.” Woojin crossed his arms on his chest as he tries to think.

“Daehwi doesn’t have a lot of ‘friends’ aside from us and our classmates… no one knows where he is, we called the center he’s not there...” Jihoon sighed.

“Why don’t you calm down so we can think about this?” Woojin earned a glare from the brunette man.

“How do I stay calm if we don’t know where our best friend is?!” Woojin just rolled his eyes. He’s worried about Daehwi, yes, but he just want to keep it cool and stay calm or else he and Jihoon wouldn’t reach for an answer if both of them are panicked… just like what Jihoon looks like now.

“Sohye said that there’s a doctor looking for Daehwi too right? Then Sanggyun and Moonbok hyung said that there’s someone looking for him too… why is Sohye not giving his number up?” Jihoon asked.

“Sohye values her loyalty to that doctor.”

“Despite how worried we are for Daehwi?! Are you sure you talked to her clearly about this?” Jihoon asked. Woojin met up with Sohye as well as the bar waiters while he went to the water station only to get no luck.

“Yes, I bribed her, I did everything… she’s mum about it but she promised to call if she learns something about Daehwi’s whereabouts.” Woojin replied.

“Know what? Let’s go to All Days, I’m going to talk to her this time.” Jihoon said as he grabbed his bag before Woojin can even protest.

“But-“ Woojin’s cut off by a ring from his phone.

“Answer it.” Jihoon raised a brow.

“Unknown number.”

“Just do it.”

“Fine!” and Woojin slid the answer button.

 

 

 

-

 

“Woojin?” Daehwi’s unsure on how to talk to his friend but the next thing he knew, a shouting Jihoon’s talking at the other line making him pull the phone away from his ear.

“Calm down! It’s Daehwi!” he tried to raise his voice.

“Where are you? How are you? why didn’t you tell us? For God’s sake Lee Daehwi I’m just 20 years old but I feel like I aged for additional 20 years because of your whereabouts-“

“Jihoon calm down okay? Can you like, give the phone to Woojin? I bet he’s calmer.”

“No! You’re talking to me!” Jihoon snapped.

“Okay.”

“Now tell me all the details, better yet, you meet with us and be sure you’re meeting us as a whole, something wrong with you and I’m going to-“

“Mom stop it!” Daehwi annoyingly sighed.

“Daehwi? Daehwi it’s Woojin.”

“Oh thank you for getting the phone from Jihoon.”

“He’s overacting, I sometimes wonder why he’s in films when he’s supposed to be acting- ouch!”

“Hey enough with your drama, just meet with me? I’ll text the exact place.”

“Are you okay?” Woojin asked, concern written all over his face, something that Daehwi can’t see but that question made Jihoon calm down.

“Yes, you don’t have to worry about anything.” Daehwi tried his best to assure the two important person in his life on the other line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He wanted to meet them on a different place but Daniel insisted that they can just meet at the shopping center since it’s almost like a mall exclusive for unit owners, another storm of amazement went over Daehwi’s system after seeing the entire place.

“So you’re telling us that you’re now living with the doctor after everything that happened?” Jihoon asked for the nth time. He promised himself to be honest to them, no secrets as Daniel told him that it will be for the best. He received a different reactions from the two but it’s just that, Woojin was passive, Jihoon was aggressive.

“Yeah.”

“Move out, move at my place, I can move in immediately, it’s not as cosy as this but we can live there together.” Jihoon finally gave his suggestion and Daehwi can swear, he really wants to do that.

“Jihoon’s right. You don’t know the doctor really well… yes he helped you, you helped him before but that’s it… we don’t know anything more than him being a doctor at one of the best hospitals here in Korea as well as him being a drunken man who can’t control himself and pass out at the bar.” Woojin added.

Daehwi ran his palm through his face as he took a deep breath. He really wants to do that but half of him is feeling guilty to leave the doctor after how nice he is in accommodating him and everything.

“Give me a month.” Daehwi finally said.

“Why?”

“Or just until December ends…”

“Why?”

“I just want to pay back everything he has done to me.” Daehwi hopes that it could be enough reason for the two to believe.

“Give me a date.” Jihoon’s assertiveness sometimes (or most of the time) causes Daehwi enough stress.

“Please, just let me handle this one. I owe this man enough… as well as his hospital colleagues, they were so nice to me the whole time I was there… I need to at least pay back.” Daehwi pleaded. Jihoon wants to snap at the hospital and subway thing again but he has already said his speech earlier which just caused people to give them glances and made Woojin apologize at everything.

“I just want to know… are you really feeling safe here?” Jihoon asked again.

“Yes, safer than I ever was.”

“I honestly think that we can’t do anything about this because even I think that this place is the best for you now… but please promise us that you wont be keeping anything from us from this point onwards… you went through a lot and we didn’t have a single idea.” Woojin spoke this time, he’s always the mediator, the calm one and that made Daehwi nod.

“I promise, no more secrets or whatnots, I’ll give you updates every now and then and I’m going back to school on Monday.” Daehwi promised.

“You gave your word and we’ll trust that, okay Lee Daehwi?” Jihoon pinned his lip into a line and Daehwi nod.

“Promise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Daehwi entered the unit and as expected, Daniel’s not there anymore. He has accomplished a lot on his first day outside the hospital so he’s satisfied but at the same time, he got so much thought in his mind.

He _borrowed_ money from Daniel so he can buy a new phone, he met with his best friends and made a promise to update them about everything, he went to All Days and thank God He sent Sohye to be his angel who covered up for him all these time so the manager still accepted him after he showed his medical certificate (thanks to Sejeong for providing one.) The bar also accepted him still after he told them about what happened to him. Shindong doesn’t normally care about their personal stories but this time, Daehwi can swear that he saw he was concerned and that somehow warmed his heart. Shindong still accepted him but there’s going to be a subtraction from his usual salary as they had to hire someone to cover up for him when he was MIA. He starts to work on Monday for the convenient store and he’ll resume working at the bar after Christmas and that hit him, it’s almost Christmas time.

“Christmas on a different place.” He sighed. After leaving the center, he’s used to spending Christmas in his apartment and that one Christmas he spent with Woojin and Jihoon who dragged him for a short vacation in Jeju, expenses paid by Jihoon’s parents.

He’s still resting at the couch as he looks around the apartment, not a hint of Christmas on any corners and of course, he understands that the owner is busy but it’s a bit sad. He doesn’t really believe in Santa but he believes that a house should have at least, a spirit of Christmas to fit in the winter vibe.

Daehwi’s busy with his train of thoughts when the doorbell rang which made him jump off his seat.

“Oh, who could it be?” he headed to the monitor to see and pressed the speaker button.

“Good evening, I just would like to deliver three parcels to Dr. Kang Daniel’s unit.” The man showed his identification card.

“Mr. Lee, it’s a parcel for Mr. Kang, the delivery instruction is to bring it directly to his unit, will it be okay to bring it up there or we’ll wait for Mr. Kang to arrive?” this time it’s the reception and Daehwi swear, he’s in mind blow. So the doorbell earlier wasn’t because someone was outside the door but it’s because someone came at the post office of the apartment tower and the audio is directed to both the unit and the reception area… just how strict the security is in this place?

“Ah…. Just… have it delivered here.” Daehwi’s unsure but he can just message Daniel right?

“Copy that Mr. Lee.” And the line was cut off.

“What else will I experience as I stay here?” Daehwi can’t help but ask.

Moments later, the parcel delivery arrived and it’s even escorted by security. _Oh my God this is creepy._

 

Daehwi stared at the parcels he settled at the living room. Three parcels, one from Busan, one from Canada and another one from Incheon.

“People really does love him for him to receive such parcels.” Daehwi then stood up and headed to his room, leaving the parcels and completely forgetting about messaging Daniel about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So how is it living with a new housemate?” Sejeong asked as she crossed her arms on her chest.

“Something new? Last time I had a housemate was during residency… but it’s just his first day and I let him eat a food delivery for dinner.” Daniel replied making Sejeong gasp.

“What a hospitable man you are.” Nayoung commented from the nurse’s station.

“I hope Daehwi stays with you though, there’s something about that kid that makes me want to protect him at all costs.” Sejeong can’t help but say it.

“I know, when I first met him few months ago, he was so… sincere? I don’t know, there’s really something about him… and he’s cute-“

“Are you hitting on him?! Nurse Nayoung?!” Sejeong earned a glare from Nayoung.

“Do I like one?! Damn Sejeong stop watching dramas, how do you even swing that in your schedule? Daehwi… I want him to be my younger brother. Too cute.” Nayoung cooed.

“I swing it in when I have time, I cannot just kill myself over hospital issues or I’m going to get old quick… and for Daehwi… yes, I want him to be my younger brother too!” Sejeong smiles as she pictures out the days she spent with Daehwi in his hospital room, the small conversation and cute reactions.

“Are you two really going to talk like this in front of me?” Daniel raised a brow as he lifted his head from the patient’s record he’s reading.

“I’m just saying okay? If I have a place like yours, I wouldn’t even suggest for him to live with you and I’ll just keep him, adopt him and feed him good things.” Sejeong replied and it made Daniel chuckle.

“He got you wrapped around his finger? Dr. Kim?” Daniel teased making Sejeong roll her eyes.

“If Daehwi finds a _partner_ in the future, I’m going to ask him to let it meet me first and I’m going to roast that person alive, Daehwi only deserves good things after everything.” Sejeong tapped her fingers on the counter making Nayoung chuckle.

“Why are you suddenly talking about his partner?” Nayoung asked.

“It’s just something between me and my patient.” Sejeong replied earning a chuckle from Nayoung while Daniel can only shake his head while reading the record.

“Oh and by the way Dr. Kang, don’t act like we forgot about your birthday.” Sejeong changed the topic making Daniel look at her again.

“Did you file a leave?” Nayoung asked.

“I didn’t.”

“AGAIN?!”

“Why would I? it’s just reminding me that I’m getting a year older, what’s there to fuss?” Daniel shrugged.

“File your leave and let’s go out for a drink, my throat misses some alcohol.” Sejeong batted her brows.

“Are you really a doctor?”

“Last time I checked, I am… and come on! Dr. Yoon and nurse Jaehwan would love to come like the usual! Then invite Daehwi as well! it’ll be fun!” Sejeong excitedly exclaimed which earned some attention from passersby making her apologize.

“If this topic reaches Dr. Kim Minseok, make sure to leave my name out of this.” Nayoung said causing Daniel to chuckle.

“This happens when ER is in a little peace, Sejeong’s wilding.” Daniel commented.

“Whatever you say, I’m calling that day for a celebration!” Sejeong didn’t wait for a response as she turned around to exit the ER as Nayoung and Daniel just exchanged glances.

“I really think you should file a leave.” Nayoung chuckled and left the counter making Daniel shake his head. _Why are they even making fuss over my own day?_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_“So right after you graduate, what do you plan to do in life?” Sejeong asked as she leaned on Daehwi’s bed. She always makes sure that when she makes her rounds, she goes to Daehwi’s room last so she can have some casual conversation with the cute patient. There’s something about Daehwi that she just wants to baby him and treat him like her own brother… maybe it’s also because she learned about his story._

_“If I can find a good internship and they can absorb me then I’ll work there? I’m not really sure about it though, but if it goes according to plan, I want to work on a television network, being a film student can give me options on working in the industry.” Daehwi replied._

_“How about love life? What’s your plan about it? Don’t be like me, I told myself that I can find someone after I end my residency but look at me now? Borderline into living alone my entire life.” Sejeong dramatically replied making Daehwi chuckle._

_“You’re still young Dr. Kim… that doesn’t make sense, you’ll find one or maybe, it’s just around the corner already.” Daehwi replied._

_“Not as young as you.”_

_“I don’t know though, if my life’s partner comes at whatever point I am in my life… then I might just embrace that person and let that person enter my life… but as of now, I just want to focus on what’s in front of me… build and rebuild myself and get back to my feet.” Daehwi’s answer made Sejeong smile._

_“I want to be like you.”_

_“I’m nothing.”_

_“You’re everything Daehwi, you should know that… when that person comes, he should make sure to cherish you.” Sejeong replied with a smile and somehow, Daehwi’s taken a back with Sejeong’s words which the doctor obviously noticed making her chuckle._

_“Of course I know! You don’t even have to say it.” Sejeong said making Daehwi blush. Most of the time, sexual preferences makes it awkward and causes airy conversation but Sejeong just made it feel so light for him._

_“Thank you…. noona.”_

_“Oh my God! You finally called me noona!” Sejeong squealed making Daehwi laugh._

_“Dr. Kim.” Sejeong just rolled her eyes as she stood up._

_“Remember, always open yourself for anyone okay? Don’t let yourself be eaten by the fact that you’re too busy building and rebuilding yourself… don’t be like me.” She beamed._

_“Why are we actually talking about my life partner?”_

_“Because I envy you for being young.”_

_“Oh my God.” And that just made Sejeong laugh._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Guys, I can't believe what I did, hahahahaha! I was supposed to post this update yesterday but instead of posting it, I saved it in drafts. Only when I opened it today that I noticed that there are only 5 chapters posted. hehe, sorry.   
> But yeah, here's an update for you! <3   
> I am so happy reading your comments and seeing the progress of this fic, thank you and let's give nielhwi some love <3  
> how was it?  
> comments, kudos and hits are very much appreciated <3
> 
> -irememberyou


	7. SEVEN

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

SEVEN

 

Daehwi can’t believe it. The parcel, the invite… everything was because its Daniel’s birthday and he had no idea. The day after the parcels arrived, Daniel just told him that it came from his relatives and he just brought them in his room… two days later, Daniel invited him for a dinner with the other doctors and nurses and he thought it was just a casual one since they all had their _day off_ but he was taken aback when everyone said that it’s actually Daniel’s birthday.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Daehwi can’t help but ask to the birthday boy seated beside him. Daniel just chuckled.

“I don’t usually celebrate it but it’s different when Sejeong enters the picture so I ended up having this.” Daniel replied.

“You should have told me.” Daehwi pouted making Daniel chuckle again.

“You’re cute.” And he must admit, he can feel his ears turn red.

“Daniel I really want to stay but I got a very early meeting tomorrow morning.” Dr. Kim Minseok said as he stood up. Daehwi can’t believe that he met one of the _best_ doctors that is also Daniel’s mentor. He knows that Dr. Kim has guested on some health related shows on TV so meeting him in person awed him.

“No problem Dr. Kim, I am beyond thankful that you came.” Daniel replied as he stood up.

“And before I leave, I need to give this to you.” Minseok then handed him a paper bag.

“Am I not too old for gifts? But thank you.” Daniel received it with both hands making Minseok laugh.

“Not old as I am, don’t make me feel the age gap… especially with Daehwi here.” Minseoks said while laughing as he pointed at Daehwi who looked down shyly.

“Embrace your youth young man, don’t be like these old lads and lasses who only realized that they were once young but completely let it go and you study well.” Minseok said earning different reactions from the small crowd.

“I will.” Daehwi replied with laughter as well.

“Ah I really need to go before I can’t control myself and get another shot.” Minseok said and everyone stood up to bid goodbye to one of the highest ranking doctors in the hospital. Minseok made sure to warn everyone to drink moderately if they want to go home in one piece and then he left.

Daehwi thought he’ll be awkward but he’s actually having so much fun with everyone. Nurse Nayoung talks more when she’s drunk. Dr. Sejeong is too loud for her own good. Dr. Jisung’s so into his stories making everyone laugh and nurse Jaehwan’s sharing some stories that Daehwi can’t really decipher as he’s already mumbling.

“Why are you not drinking too much?” Daehwi asked as he glance at the birthday boy. He swear he just saw Daniel drink one can of beer.

“Sign of old age?” and Daehwi just rolled his eyes.

“Why are you making me feel too young when I’m not? You’re still young hyung, go drink up.” Daehwi replied as he pointed at the can of beer in front of them.

“I don’t want pass out and get drunk too much. We need to let these people get a ride home safe and I brought a car, I can’t let you drag me into a cab again.” Daniel replied with a little chuckle as Daehwi just nod. He drinks but he knows his capacity, he’s not really a good drinker and as the _youngest_ seated with _professionals,_ he somehow told himself that his service is needed to bring these people home safely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Daehwi dragged himself inside the elevator. The three consecutive alarms brought him back to his senses as he washed his face, grabbed his wallet and left the unit. It’s past 6 in the morning and he just hopes that Daniel doesn’t wake up too soon. He’s feeling guilty for not being able to give him anything for his birthday, not that he’s required to but still… it’s his birthday so a little something wouldn’t hurt right?

After buying everything from the convenient store, he stormed back to Daniel’s place, happy that the doctor is still sound asleep. He’s not really a good cook but living in a Juvenile Center plus living alone right after has taught him to be independent enough to at least make some edible dishes.

It’s just a simple Canadian inspired breakfast he researched last night before he fell asleep. They came home around 2am after Daniel called it a night at 1am and they had to call for cabs and made sure that the four drunk _humans_ were able to go home safe.

It’s almost 8am when he heard Daniel’s room click indicating that the doctor’s coming out and he’s done with everything as well. As a film student as he is, he even made sure to take photos of the food since he’s _quite_ proud with how he plated the food, hoping to give off Canadian vibe breakfast just like what you’ll get to eat on restaurants.

“Good morning!” Daniel greeted as he headed to the kitchen, surprised over the food on the dining table.

“Oh what is this?” Daniel’s taken a back after seeing waffles, eggs, sausages and more.

“Uhm… post birthday breakfast?” Daehwi shyly replied making Daniel look at him and eventually smiled.

“You didn’t have to do this… but thank you Daehwi.” Daniel’s smile widen with the thought of the younger making effort for his birthday.

“I’m not really sure what to cook so I just figured on making a western style breakfast.” Daehwi mumbled as he sat adjacent to Daniel.

“This is lovely.” Daniel started to eat.

“This reminds me of my yearly visit to Canada.” Daniel commented.

“You’re a good cook.” He continues to speak making Daehwi blush.

“I’m not, just an independent person who eventually had to learn to cook to survive.”

“You know what? Same.” Daniel chuckled. He had to learn everything on his own right after he started to live alone. Cook, clean, wash dishes, do the laundry, get his own driver’s license, pay bills and many more.

“Thinking about it…” Daniel paused as he look at Daehwi.

“Isn’t this the first breakfast we ever had together? And the first meal you made and shared with me since you moved in.” And Daehwi realized it as well. It has been a week since he moved in and they don’ really get to share a meal together. When Daniel’s home, he’s asleep most of the time. It’s like, he’s just coming home to sleep then return to the hospital. Daehwi’s leaving early too to catch up with the requirements he needed to do for school especially for the days when he was absent. He’s also busy working at the convenient store while waiting for Christmas to end so he can resume working at the bar.

 “We’re really like housemates who never meet.” Daehwi chuckled.

“This is amusing… I bet Sejeong’s going to reprimand me if she knew about this. She never stopped asking about you when she gets a chance, what did you feed her?” Daniel asked as he chuckles.

“Sejeong noona…” and Daehwi burst out laughing remembering the doctor from last night.

“Don’t mention to her how wasted she was last night… we usually wait for her to remember and just embarrass herself out of it.” Daehwi didn’t expect that Sejeong can be so wild. She literally danced and sang while they were waiting for the cab, earning attention from people around them. It’s good that no one can recognize from the hospital or else, Sejeong’s going to get doomed.

“Are you leaving for work after this?” Daniel changed the topic.

“My shift start at 11am today.”

“I see, until what time?”

“7pm or 8pm, depending on the amount of people who decides to stay at All Days for the heater.” Daehwi chuckled. It’s true though, some people stays there for the heater and just buys some stuffs just so they can stay for a while and Daehwi can’t complain since he does that before as well.

“Will you be free right after?”

“Yeah I think, why?”

“I know that I’m a week late but you might want to come with me for grocery? Pantry and grocery’s empty and I know that you had to buy ingredients for this so let’s just grab this day off of mine to fill in my empty kitchen… if it’s okay with you.” Daniel replied.

“Definitely hyung! Just message me where we’ll meet later.” Daehwi’s excited as he misses doing it on his old apartment. He may not be able to buy a lot but calling it _grocery_ itself even if he just buys 5-8 items for his small kitchen is enough.

“Okay, I will.” Daniel smiled.

 

 

 

-

 

Daehwi can’t wait to punch out. The convenient store is always busy when people decides to flock in and stay for an hour or something for the warmth the store brings. Winter is crazy so they understand. They also need to restock the heat packs several times within 8 hours since some buys boxes just to ease the coldness.

“You know Christmas is around the corner when it’s getting colder and colder… my mom kept on reminding me to stay hydrated and stay away from colds this season.” Sohye said as she leans on the counter. She’s tired restocking the heat packs and reheating the ready-made meals they have while Daehwi’s been on the counter and doing inventories all day.

“You want to rest first? They’re already here so we can just wait for the time to punch out.” Daehwi suggested.

“I’m hungry, it’s dinner time… wanna eat later? My treat.” Sohye dodged the question as she can feel her empty stomach complaining.

“I can’t… I need to do something after, next time?” Daehwi replied.

“Okay, you owe me one.”

“But your treat.”

“Yes, my treat.” Sohye chuckled.

“Good evening! Welcome to All Days 24/7- hyung!” Daehwi’s surprised to see Daniel enter the store with a bright smile on his face.

“Oh Dr. Kang.” Sohye immediately paid respect to the doctor.

“Hi Daehwi, hi Sohye!” Daniel greeted.

“What are you doing here hyung? Aren’t you supposed to message me if where we’ll meet?” Daehwi confusedly asked. Sohye on the other hand just listens to the two.

“I know but I left the house early since I didn’t have much to do and I can’t sleep anymore so I decided to just drop by since it’s almost your out as well.” Daniel replied.

“I still have 15 minutes.”

“It’s okay, I’ll just buy something and head back to the car.”

“You can stay here- not.” Daehwi had to look around and realized that all the tables and seats are taken.

“It’s alright, the car’s too warm already so I can stay there.” Daniel replied so Daehwi had no choice but to agree. Daniel bought a bottle of water and crackers to munch in while waiting but Daehwi insisted to put it under his name so Daniel doesn’t have to pay.

 

“So that’s why you’re rejecting my dinner offer.” Sohye immediately spoke when Daniel left making Daehwi’s brows meet.

“What do you mean?”

“With Dr. Kang.” Sohye replied in a matter of fact tone. It took a few seconds before Daehwi understood what she meant.

“Are you serious? What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing, do I need to think about something?” it’s so obvious that Sohye is teasing him that he just had to make face.

“You’ve been living with him for a week right? How was it?” If there’s one fact that Daehwi knows about Sohye, it would have to be her persistence when it comes to asking and telling stories.

“We rarely meet, we really act like housemates. He’s home at night, asleep all day then leaves the next day… I’m mostly at school, library or here.” Daehwi replied.

“Boring. You don’t watch movies? Listen to music?”

“What do you think of us? I’m too busy for that.”

“But you mentioned there’s an entertainment room! You should make use of the wide screen you mentioned last time! You can’t let your skills as a film student fail. You should always update yourself!” Sohye replied making Daehwi agree. Before, even with how busy he is, he always makes sure that he cans sneak in one movie and critique it the way they do their critique papers when there’s school.

 

 

 

 

Daehwi bade goodbye to Sohye and his co-workers. He then approached Daniel’s car that’s parked right in front of the convenient store.

“Hop in its cold!” Daniel immediately opened the door when he saw Daehwi came out of the store.

“We get free hot packs so I bought you some in case you need it.” Daehwi said as he handed Daniel two hotpacks which the doctor received with a toothy grin.

“Where do you want to buy the grocery?” Daniel asked which confused Daehwi.

“You decide hyung, I don’t know much.” Daehwi replied.

“Where do you buy your grocery before?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Put it in the GPS, let’s go there.” Daniel instructed and before Daehwi can reply, he already handed him the small keyboard so he just silently typed in the location.

 

 

 

 

When they arrived, Daniel can see how excited Daehwi is. As he looks around, it just looks like any normal grocery places but of course, pretty different from what he’s used at.

“What do you want to buy?” Daehwi asked as he pulled a cart but Daniel pushed him to the side to take over in handling it.

“The usual? Ramen, eggs, meat and whatever we can find. You lead the way since you know this place better than I do.” Daniel replied.

“Okay.” Daehwi then turned and did a little hops while walking while Daniel is silently pushing the cart behind with a smile plastered on his face.

The whole time that they were looking around, Daehwi had to stop, check on the price that Daniel’s getting and check if there’s cheaper one. He knows that Daniel is paying but he still thinks that they shouldn’t really invest on too much pricey ingredients.

“Hyung that’s too much! Get the other one!” he pointed at the sack of onions Daniel got.

“It’s for a month grocery so this is enough.” Daniel insisted.

“We both don’t usually eat at home, you can get half sack if you want.” Daehwi replied and Daniel knew that he’s defeated. He returned the sack and got the smaller bag. It’s true though, on his old place, there were times that no matter how tired he was, he had to clean up the smelly pantry and kitchen because of the rotten ingredients he had kept and stayed untouched.

“Beer or soju?” Daniel asked when they passed by the wine area making Daehwi raise a brow at him.

“Okay student, I’ll just get some for me.” Daniel returned his attention to the drinks which made Daehwi chuckle.

“Just get both, I bet you’ll still drink them even if I’m not around.” Daehwi said as he turned around to head on a different direction. Daniel can’t help but smile as he got a few bottles and cans. He has not drank with Daehwi in the apartment yet but he’s sure that the younger doesn’t really have a high tolerance since he was already pinkish after three shots last night.

“Where is he?” Daniel realized that he lost track of where Daehwi went because of his short time imagination.

 

 

 

 

After paying for the grocery (which gave Daehwi a shock with the total amount) Daniel invited him for late dinner.

“Are you sure you’re okay eating here?” Daehwi asked as they entered a kiosk that sells samgyupsal, the closest they can go to from the grocery.

“Of course, what do you think of me?” Daniel confidently replied.

“Don’t get me wrong, you just don’t give off the vibe of eating on places like this.” Daehwi’s answer made Daniel chuckle.

“I eat on places like this Daehwi, I eat on small markets, I eat on sidewalks like normal people does. Don’t think that just because I’m a doctor and grew up with a rich background, I no longer experienced this. I’m not like any Korean drama male lead who acts like that.” Daniel stated with a smile as he looks at him while Daehwi tried to miss on the eye contact.

“Sorry.” He mumbled as they sat down.

“It’s okay.” Daniel smiled, there’s a tiny pout on Daehwi’s lips that he can see even as the younger looks down.

 

As they started eating, Daehwi regained his energy and started asking Daniel about random questions he could think of.

“Is Jisung hyung in a relationship right now?” that made Daniel almost spit out his food.

“What kind of question is that?!”

“I don’t know… he gives off that vibe where he’s like a character who is hiding a lover or something.” Daehwi giggled which made Daniel laugh.

“Jisung hyung’s going on hysteria if he heard your question.”

“I was just curious.”

“Am I seeing your film student side right now? Analysing characters like this… PD Lee?” Daniel questioned back making Daehwi smile, gritting his teeth which Daniel finds adorable.

“I was just saying…” Daehwi doesn’t know what to say making Daniel chuckle.

“I haven’t asked you this yet… why did you take up films?” Daniel asked this time.

“Why did you want to become a doctor?” Daehwi asked back.

“My father is a doctor, my mother is a nurse… it just makes sense.” Daniel replied.

“But you could have a choice.”

“I wanted to do what my dad does before, saving people, interacting with patients, getting to know them…. Like you.” Daniel’s voice was fading at the end of the sentence which Daehwi didn’t actually mind as he thinks of what to tell him. It was also asked to him during his interview during his enrolment and he just gave a standard and generic answer of ‘I want to become a director someday’ but of course, it’s pretty different, he just didn’t want to explain.

“Movies or dramas, they fulfil fantasies, don’t you think so?” Daehwi’s expression changed which made Daniel stare at him, trying to analyze his expression.

“Why is that?”

“They show stories and fulfil people’s fantasies… like situations where they want to be, a life they want to have… movies and dramas shows that and people either like them or hate them because it either portray the life they have or the life they want to have.” Daehwi’s words are going in circles as Daniel just continues to stare at him.

“And you’re one of those people?” Daniel carefully asked as he saw a small smirk on Daehwi’s lips.

“You think so?” Daehwi crossed his arms on the table as he stared back at Daniel who is obviously taken a back.

“You’re weird…” that made Daehwi chuckle.

“I want to be one of the persons who fulfil people’s fantasy… I want to be one of those people who could provide that kind of entertainment to the viewers, does that make sense?” Daehwi stated after he took a deep breath.

“How about yourself? You’ll provide something for others, how about yourself?” Daniel’s question caused a change of emotion to Daehwi before he took a deep breath.

“Will I sound selfless if I say that what matters more is their fulfilment than mine?”

“It does.”

“Then let me just say that I’ll see if what will be the reward for me in the end after I give them the fulfilment.” Daehwi then grabbed his chopsticks and started eating, obviously telling Daniel that he doesn’t want to continue with the topic anymore.

_But shouldn’t you think of yourself as well? When I thought that I have seen through you already… you always make me realize that it’s hard to get through your walls, Daehwi._

“Hyung, start eating so we can go home, I need to do some readings before I sleep later.” Daehwi’s voice snapped Daniel back to reality as he nod and resumed eating.

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

Daniel leaned on the couch as he noticed the deafening silence in his apartment. He’s used to living alone but after staying with Daehwi, he’s usually used to at least, seeing a pair of shoes on the entrance of the apartment, indicating that Daehwi’s around but tonight is a different night. Daehwi’s on a sleep over at the dance studio of Woojin’s foster parents. They’re working on a final output before the semester ends. Daehwi just messaged him about it earlier.

The hospital has been very tiring lately, Dr. Kim Minseok has been pulling him to assist him on his surgeries, he needs to guide his residents and of course, the ER is never near peace at times like this. He’s sometimes thankful that Daehwi’s there to talk to him when arrives and he’s at the living room, reading or something.

He’s tired, he just wants to shower and sleep but he knows that he still can’t sleep when there’s too much running in his head now. Dr. Kim has been giving him hints of promotions and he don’t know if he’s ready, promotion means more than just being an ER doctor and guiding residents, it can also mean greater competition with some _self-centered_ doctors there. Just a few days ago, he had to comfort Jisung who had a breakdown after a having a patient die on the table due to complications. Sejeong’s been out of herself these days and her lovelife is not helping either. Nayoung’s drowned with the job and Jaehwan’s been zoning out lately. December is supposed to be filled with fun and everyone’s supposed to be happy but it’s always different when you’re working in a place like they do. It’s always a survival of the fittest… or survival of the person with the strongest EQ.

 

 

_“Hyung, don’t you think that December is made for people who are destined to be happy?”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“People look forward for December because it is when they meet with their friends and family during Christmas, it is when workers receive a higher pay too! In general, winter gives people more happiness despite the cold weather… but why is it different when it comes to us, aren’t we destined to be happy?”_

_“Daehwi…”_

_“But Nayeon noona, one of the volunteers in the center before said that everyone’s destined to be happy… maybe this December… this winter is not our turn to feel that happiness yet?” he giggled a little which made Daniel chuckle._

_“When’s our time then? Do you really think I’m destined to be happy?”_

_“It’ll come hyung, maybe just not now, like me…” Daehwi can always talk maturely which confuses him sometimes because the younger seemed to be more mature in thinking than he is._

_“And yes, I believe you’re destined to be happy.”_

_“Like you?”_

_“I guess.”_

 

“Hello hyung? Hyung?” Daniel’s brought back to reality upon hearing Daehwi’s voice only to realize he got his phone on his ear. When did he even dial his number?

“Daehwi?” he straightened up his position.

“You called, is there a problem?” Daehwi gave a hint of concern which made Daniel clear his throat.

“Sejeong, Jisung, Nayoung and Jaehwan… do you think they’re destined to be happy too?”

There’s a long pause which made Daniel realize what he said. _Fck Daniel, what are you doing?_

“Are you drunk? Where are you hyung? Do you need me to fetch you?” Daehwi’s voice sounds more worried now as Daniel took a deep breath.

“I am not drunk, I’m sorry for asking random things… I’m just tired… maybe.” Daniel can’t believe he called him and ask him these things.

“You must be busy, I’m sorry for randomly calling I was just-“

“Didn’t I say that everyone’s destined to be happy? I always believed in what Nayeon noona said back then… so yes, Sejeong noona, Dr. Yoon, Nayoung noona and nurse Jaehwan are all destined to be happy… like us.” Daehwi’s voice sounds so calming that it made Daniel lean back to the couch.

“Are you really okay hyung? Your call surprised me, I’ve been calling your name but it took you a minute to finally talk…. I can go home if you need anything.” Daehwi’s voice sounds like he’s talking to a child which makes Daniel want to laugh at himself.

“I am.” He took a deep breath before he continued talking. “Thank you Daehwi, and if you get to meet your Nayeon noona, tell her thank you as well.” Daniel said as his lips formed a little smile.

“You should rest now hyung, it’s late, you must have a long day at the hospital.”

“I will, I’m sorry or randomly calling, you must be busy.”

“It’s okay, I just excused myself.”

“Then go back to them now. Goodbye Daehwi.”

“Bye hyung! Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

 

Daniel stared at the ceiling… yes, maybe he’s really destined to be happy. Maybe this December… this winter… it’s his time but he just doesn’t see it yet.

 

“I should sleep.”

 

 

 

 

-

 

“Is everything okay?” Woojin asked when Daehwi returned.

“Yeah.”

“I heard you raise your voice while calling his name.” he made an eye contact with Daehwi as the later just broke it immediately.

“It was the signal so I couldn’t hear him clearly… he was just asking some random stuffs.” Daehwi replied, not wanting to explain as he also doesn’t know why the doctor called him in the middle of the night and ask question about _happiness._

“Look at them sleep, wow.” Daehwi turned his attention to his other groupmates with Jihoon who is now sprawled at their sleeping bags around the studio where they’re staying.

“They said that we’ll do a rotation in editing the scene. Jihoon and the other two are off by 3am to shoot for the sunrise later so I told them to sleep.” Woojin replied as he returned his attention to the laptop.

“I can’t wait for this semester to be over.” Daehwi muttered as he grabbed the storyboard.

“The next semester is going to be a life and death situation for us…” Woojin pointed out.

“I can’t wait to graduate.” Daehwi grumbled which made Woojin chuckle.

“Let’s just finish this one, wake them up to do their part while we sleep.” Woojin replied as he gave Daehwi a glance to see him nod before he returned his eyes to the laptop.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am late for winter but :) I really like winter talks and December talks and random stuffs like that so I had to squeeze it in here. How is everyone? <3  
> I hit over 600 hits, thank you for spending some time into checking this fic out! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated.  
> Thank you!
> 
> -irememberyou
> 
> (oh and I posted a new onghwi one shot, if you have time to wink on that fic, I'd be very thankful! <3)


	8. EIGHT

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

EIGHT

 

The weather has turned colder, Christmas songs are busting on every corner of South Korea, Christmas decorations are seen on a lot of places, Christmas lights are added beauty to every city, the Christmas spirit is just felt by everyone.

“Advance Merry Christmas! It’s Christmas eve!” Sejeong happily greeted everyone on the nurse’s station.

“Are we celebrating Christmas together again this year? That’s lovely.” Jisung’s sarcasm is visible making both Nayoung and Jaehwan laugh. For some reasons, their shifts just went along this year.

“Ms. Im Nayoung, if you think I have forgotten about your promise last hospital Christmas party…” Sejeong tapped her fingers on the counter while Nayoung is busy arranging the records.

“List down the order and I’ll have them delivered tonight.” Nayoung placed a post in on the counter making Sejeong grab it and immediately started writing.

There is an annual hospital Christmas party per department, if it’s your shift then you’re one unlucky person and during that time, they were able to go except Nayoung who exchanged shifts with one of the nurses who really wanted to go to the party. Sejeong reprimanded Nayoung before asking her to make up for her absence by buying for their Christmas Eve dinner.

“What are you doing here?” Sejeong lifted her head from writing when heard Jaehwan speak.

“Me? I’m a doctor here, what do you expect?” Daniel pointed at himself earning different responses from his friends.

“I thought you’re spending Christmas Eve at home?”

“I told Dr. Kim I’m going to work.” Dr. Kim Minseok gave him a two free days after they conducted a successful operation two days ago. It was quite a VIP so he really deserved the free day but here he is, at the morphine smelling ER which is surprisingly a little peaceful than the usual.

“Where is Daehwi then?” Sejeong asked and that made Daniel pause. Daehwi’s winter break started two days ago and he’s now focused into working at the convenient store and is preparing to go back to working at the bar.

“Home? Asleep maybe?”

“And you’ll let him spend Christmas Eve alone at a new place? Where have you senses go?” Sejeong sounded frustrated which made Daniel glance at Nayoung to Jaehwan to Jisung, hoping to get some support but the three just shook their head at him.

“I’m here on duty because I don’t have anyone at home and my parents on a holiday date somewhere in Hong Kong, these three are no different as well-“

“I’m going home tomorrow if that helps save my face from being loveless this Christmas.” Jaehwan raised his hand.

“So you’re telling me I’m loveless-“

“Aren’t you? Dr. Yoon? Unless you’re not telling us something?” Jaehwan asked making their attention turn to the oldest among them.

“I am in fact… loveless… so I chose to serve this day for my lovely patients.” Jisung sounded more like he’s convincing himself making Daniel silently chuckle as he remembered Daehwi’s question.

“What is the connection of your love stories with me being here? And to make a point, I’m loveless too.” Daniel innocently replied.

“What we’re trying to say is that, we don’t have anyone waiting for us at home to celebrate Christmas at home… and we also have our duty here.” Nayoung got Daniel’s attention.

“So we have no choice but be here… while you, you’re given a free day and you have someone new to at your place, and you’re just going to let him welcome Christmas alone?” Nayoung continued.

In the past years, Daniel’s been celebrating Christmas at the hospital or he’s at Busan or Canada. The thought of celebrating Christmas with Daehwi has been bugging him too but he just don’t know what to do? Call him naïve but he has never celebrated Christmas with someone at his own place, reason why his place doesn’t have a single Christmas spirit in it and he thinks that Daehwi’s going to meet up with his friends for Christmas since he never really did mention about it to him when they get to talk.

“But I don’t even know if he celebrates Christmas or he’s free, he never mentioned it.” Daniel replied.

“That’s why one can ask Dr. Kang. Daehwi’s young, has experienced a lot while growing up as an orphan, don’t you think he deserves to be happy and have some company during the day when people are usually celebrating?” Sejeong’s talking this time and that obviously sink in on Daniel. He could have asked…

“Just go Dr. Kang, if it isn’t obvious… you’re not welcomed here today.” Jaehwan gave a little chuckle at his own words to lighten up the mood earning a slap on his shoulder from Jisung.

“Go and call Daehwi and ask him about how he’ll celebrate Christmas.” Sejeong instructed.

“And another thing, I need you to hand him my gift for him this Christmas.” Sejeong continued.

“You have a gift for him?!”

“And you don’t?! You don’t have a gift for you housemate, to my dearest younger brother from another mother?!” Sejeong snapped at him. _Of course I do._

“Oh you’re really dense Kang Daniel, go get a gift for him or something. I have mine in the office too.” Jisung shook his head.

“Jaehwan and I bought ours as well, you really don’t have something for him?!” Nayoung asked.

“Well I…” _I got him something I think he’ll really like… I hope._

“Just go and get him a gift Kang Daniel! And don’t forget to hand over our gift for him. You’re not welcomed to our Christmas Eve dinner later so don’t bother showing up.” Daniel can only shake his head. _Why is everyone making this Christmas a big deal to him?_

 

 

 

-

 

Daehwi smiled as he finished packing everything. He knows that he doesn’t have a lot but he was able to set aside a small amount of his Christmas bonus from the convenient store to buy gifts to the special persons in his life, just a little something for them this Christmas. He has already given Woojin and Jihoon his gift and this time, he has finished packing his gift for the nurses and the doctors.

“What should I do tonight? Daniel hyung left already so I’m alone…” Daehwi lied down and rested his head on his arm after setting the gifts aside, making a mental note of asking Daniel a favour to hand over his gifts to his friends, both as a sign of gratitude and for the spirit of Christmas.

Woojin informed him that he’s spending a few days of their winter break starting this Christmas Eve at Busan where his foster parents originally came from. Jihoon on the other hand had to join his foster parents to an annual Christmas Eve gathering of big production bosses in South Korea. It’s a big honor for him to finally attend the gathering as his foster parents said that they were just waiting for him to reach the legal age so he can come with them.

Daehwi actually considered working at the convenient store for extra hours and extra income but some of the workers also pleaded to get the spot as it’s always a triple pay for holidays and Daehwi can’t say anything anymore as those workers already worked longer than him there and some even got people under their care.

“Should I just cook something tonight? For myself?” Daehwi asked himself as he sat down. Half of him actually planned to ask Daniel if he’s staying for Christmas Eve but he always can’t get the right timing as the doctor seemed to be busier than he already is.

Daehwi decided to get out of the bed and take a quick shower. He’ll just figure out how he’ll spend the day after.

 

 

 

 

“Hyung you’re here?!” Daehwi gasped upon seeing a figure seated on the couch of the living room when he came out of the room. He didn’t even hear him arrive, he must still be in the shower.

“You showered.” Daniel smiled at him and somehow, that made Daehwi’s mood lighter. Earlier, he was already starting to regret not having anything to do for this day but seeing Daniel around brightened his mood up.

“Do you want to celebrate Christmas Eve Dinner? Or should we just eat tomorrow? How do you usually do it?” Daniel’s question made him pause from walking but he immediately recovered as he sat across him.

“Are you going to be here for Christmas Eve?” Daehwi giddily asked and Daniel can swear, his heart jumped in joy seeing the younger one giggle with his question. As usual, his friends are always right.

“Yeah, I’m given two days off so I’m here.” Daniel replied.

“That’s great! I don’t usually do a lot of stuffs aside from having my own Christmas Eve dinner and then work on Christmas day itself unless I spend it with Woojin or Jihoon.” Daehwi stated.

“So Christmas Eve dinner?” Daniel clarified.

“Here?” Daehwi asked back making Daniel chuckle.

“Will you cook or should I do it?” Daniel asked again, this time, a cute giggle escaped from Daehwi as he find their conversation amusing.

“We both know we can’t really cook something extravagant from what we are used to but that’s an option.” Daehwi chuckled.

“How about we just go out and have a take out from some fancy restaurants out there? I want to eat Christmas Eve dinner in my new place.” Daniel replied.

“Why does it have to be in some fancy restaurants?”

“Give me a break on this Daehwi, it’s Christmas, spending additional bucks wouldn’t really hurt, please.” Daehwi flinched a little hearing the doctor plead over spending additional money for the dinner. As someone who spent his life with little to nothing, he’s really not used with fancy restaurants like what Daniel usually say but of course, he’s the owner of the house and he needs to respect his decision, besides, it’s a special meal for him as it’s the doctor’s first Christmas in his new place.

“Okay hyung, whatever you say since it’s your place.” Daehwi beamed.

“Are you sure?”

“101%.” He raised two thumbs up.

“Great! Go and change so we can leave now.” Daniel instruction made Daehwi’s brows meet.

“It’s still early? Wouldn’t the food get cold-“

“We got some things to do aside from buying the food and I need you to accompany me so let’s go.” Daniel’s reply just made Daehwi nod and he stormed in his room to quickly change into something warmer as the weather is blessing them into negative degree for this day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daehwi’s surprised when they pulled off in a popular shopping district.

“What are we going to do here hyung?” Daehwi asked, the whole car ride was them talking about Daehwi’s final output for the semester and Daniel can’t help but frequently glance at the smiling boy who is so happy sharing about what transpired in his final output and how they were complimented with it.

“I’m planning to do a quick shopping for gifts, Sejeong, Nayoung, Jaehwan and most especially Jisung hyung wouldn’t let me live if I don’t hand them something when I go back to work. I’m planning to get something for Dr. Kim Minseok as well.” Daniel replied as they got out.

“Okay let’s go!” Daehwi’s excited. He doesn’t _do_ shopping but window shopping is something he grew to like… especially that back in the Juvenile Center, he usually helps the volunteers buy stuffs for the younger ones and pack them for gifts on Christmas using the money given by the donors for that specific reason. He also gets dragged by Jihoon when he shops for his strange fashion taste so he gets to do window shopping for a short time when he’s not at work.

 

They started walking side by side and Daehwi’s fascinated by the amount of people walking around. Shopping, eating, and everything else in between. He also can’t help but notice the height difference between him and Daniel. The doctor is tall, got a really good built (which he saw when changed his clothes when he got drunk) and got a really long legs.

“Choose one.” that’s only when he realized they have halted.

“Eh?”

“Choose one from these.” Daniel replied as he pointed at the mittens.

“When you go out on this weather, you should be wearing something to cover your hands as well. Though burying your hands in your pocket can help, it still can’t suffice the numbness your muscles-“

“Okay doctor I don’t need some lecture right now, I’ll get this.” Daehwi cut him as he found it amusing by how he started to blabber over the needs of mittens. He honestly forgot to use one earlier, he only realized it when they have reached the basement to ride Daniel’s car.

“Okay, then I’ll get it too.” Daniel replied as he grabbed two pairs.

“Why are you going to get one when you’re already using one?”

“This one looks more comfortable than what I’m wearing, don’t you think so?” Daniel raised his right hand to show what he is wearing and Daehwi can only chuckle and nod, of course it’s his money, he can spend it with anything he wants to buy.

 

After buying the mittens, they started walking again when Daehwi’s surprised to hit the shoulder of the doctor who stopped from walking.

“The tteokbokki looks inviting, want to grab some?” Daniel asked as he pointed at the tteokbokki cart that is starting to get crowded.

“I suddenly feel hungry, let’s get some.” Daniel didn’t even wait for Daehwi to reply as he pulled the younger by wrist to quicken their pace as more people are crowding the cart.

Daehwi’s amazed with how fast the doctor was eating. He already finished four orders while Daehwi’s just starting with his second order.

“That’s the last for you hyung, let other people taste the yummy tteokbokki too!” Daehwi pointed at the new order that Daniel got. He can see how the owner and it’s assistant laugh at Daehwi’s remarks. Daniel just pouted a little as he slowed down from eating to savor the last order that he has.

 

 

“Wah I’m full.” Daniel touched his tummy making Daehwi chuckle.

“You literally sneaked in another order and that makes it six, who wouldn’t get full after eating six orders of tteokbokki in one go?” Daehwi pointed out as Daniel just sheepishly smiled.

“We should start shopping now.” Daehwi said as he checked the time on his phone.

“More people may crowd here, we’ll never know.” Daehwi returned the phone in his pocket.

“Okay, let’s go. Help me out in picking since for years, I have usually buy something that they can use in the daily basis, I have ran out of ideas already.” Daniel confessed earning a chuckle from the younger.

“I’ll try.”

 

 

They started walking around, go from shop to shop and they’re actually progressing quicker than Daehwi thought. Daniel has common ideas in mind so they just had to look for a specific item to match his ideas. On the same note, Daehwi tried to align his suggestions with his own gifts for his _hospital friends._

Now they’re down to Dr. Kim Minseok’s gift.

“What do you want to give him this year?” Daehwi asked as they stood at the side with paperbags in their hands.

“I was thinking of a neck tie again but that will be his fourth necktie from me, he’s going to end up having a collection.” Daniel sighed which just made Daehwi laugh.

“Other ideas?”

“I have given him personalized stethoscope and other needs in the hospital… what else can I give…”

“How about a cat charm?” Daehwi blurted out of blue.

“Cat charm?” it confused him.

“You once said that Dr. Kim Minseok loves cats and he has some of them in his place… how about buying charms for them?” Daehwi explained as Daniel paused to analyze what he said.

“That’s a great idea! I like that! Let’s get that! Thank you Daehwi.” Daniel’s face lighted again as they resumed walking in haunt of a cat charm shop. Truth to be told, Daehwi bought neck straps for Dr. Kim Minseok’s cats. He wanted to do the personalized cat charms but it’s over the budget so he felt bad. He just bought the neck strap hoping for it to become a spare neck strap Dr. Kim Minseok can use for his cats if he got extra charms. He’s just glad that Daniel can complete the set.

 

After making sure that Daniel has bought stuffs for his friends, they headed to the _fancy_ restaurant that Daniel was talking about and truth to be told, Daehwi’s in awe.

“Wah this place.” Daehwi’s mouth gaped open making Daniel chuckle.

“This place serves good food, it will be great if you get to taste them later.” Daniel replied as he received the menu from the waiter. The place is starting to crowd, there’s a jazz band and they’re seated at the take out area. Somehow, Daehwi hopes they can stay for a little.

“What do you want?” Daniel asked.

“Order for me please.” Daehwi replied as he returned his attention to the jazz band. They were playing Christmas songs medley and Daehwi likes it.

“Do you want to just stay and eat dinner here?” his attention was caught by Daniel. Half of him wants to do it but he’s also looking forward to stay at Daniel’s place.

“No, let’s just get a take-out hyung.” Daehwi smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After arriving at the apartment, Daniel excused himself for a quick shower. Daehwi took charge in preparing the dinner table. He didn’t even notice Daniel come out and turn on the speakers until he heard some Christmas song medley and it made him turn around to face him, a chuckle came out of his mouth.

“What are you doing hyung?”

“When I saw you earlier, I figured you were drawn to the jazz band but since we’re eating here, might as well give off some vibe of that restaurant, what do you think?” Daniel chuckled at his own antics. He just thought of it earlier so he just decided to do it.

“So this is how a dinner at a _fancy apartment_ is like?” Daehwi chuckled as he returned his attention the food. Daniel headed to his wine cabinet.

“Red or sparkling?”

“Sparkling.” Daehwi knew he was talking about the wine so he didn’t bother to look at him.

“Okay.” Daniel took out one expensive bottle he got a few days ago and a pair of wine glass.

 

“This still looks like a restaurant dinner, don’t you think so?” Daniel chuckled at his own question while he waited for Daehwi to sit in front of him.

“It is, with the wine and the music…” Daehwi laughed.

“Should we eat?”

“Suit yourself Mr. Kang.” Daehwi giggled as they started eating.

The conversation is a normal sharing of experiences between them. Daehwi learned that Daniel’s mom is disappointed that she doesn’t have a break for both Christmas and New Year and has been reprimanding Daniel to take good care of himself. He also learned that Daniel’s dad and his family are planning to go on a vacation in Europe and they’re inviting Daniel to join them but he declined as hospital work load is too much to even think of a European vacation now. He also learned that Daniel’s really fine with his family set up and he’s cool with his step siblings as well.

Daniel’s amused by Daehwi’s stories over his university. Ever since he lived in his place, Daehwi didn’t really share a lot of stories about his life in the Juvenile Center as he calls it as a repeated cycle but he got a lot to share about his university life. How he tripped over senior’s prank as a welcome for freshmen like him. How Woojin and Jihoon are his actual mother and father who treats him like he’s a kid, especially Jihoon. How Daehwi miraculously passed a minor subject when he was still a freshmen even if he was asleep 90% of the time since he had to juggle three jobs that time. His stories were fun to listen to but at the same time, Daniel feels a little sad inside. He was born with a silver spoon, school was fine, the course was challenging but he’s still fine. The only struggle he had was when his parents decided to divorce but he has learned to live with it… but Daehwi’s stories are mixture of life, money and struggles.

 

“Hyung.” Daehwi placed his utensils on the plate.

“Yes?”

“I got little gifts for them, it’s not much but I hope you hand them over.” Daehwi blushed a little thinking about his _hospital friends’_ reaction.

“For them at the hospital?” Daehwi nod.

“Oh they’ll be really happy and you didn’t really have to bother.”

“I wanted to, it’s not just for Christmas but a sign of gratitude as well… for taking good care of me.” Daehwi replied.

“Okay… and they got something for you too. Let me get them.” Before Daehwi can reply, Daniel left the table and headed to his room. Daehwi also sprinted towards the room he’s using and took out his gift for Daniel.

 

“Here, it has their names in it.” Daehwi’s in awe. It’s wrapped on different wrappers and the names of the nurses and the doctors are neatly written there as well. He suddenly feel like he gained a new family after being hospitalized.

“Thank you, these are too much.” Daehwi whispered as he looked at the presents that Daniel placed on the chair.

“This one is for you hyung.” Daehwi held his breath after passing the neatly wrapped gift to Daniel which the doctor happily received.

“I got one too?”

“Of course, it’s not much but-“

“Thank you Daehwi.” He smiled.

Daniel happily opened the gift and the smile on his face grew wider seeing what’s inside.

“Daehwi… this is beautiful. It’s personalized right?” Daniel whispered.

“It is… I got a friend working on a leather store so I was able to ask for help.” Daehwi shyly replied. The leather store makes personalized items and at first, he wanted to make a small wallet but his budget just won’t work out so his friend suggested that he can make an ID badge holder, a much cheaper item compared to the pouches.

“Thank you.” Daniel held the holder tight as he looked at Daehwi who smiled at him.

“I got something for you too.” Daniel sounded shy which surprised Daehwi.

“Isn’t it the mittens?” Daehwi’s confused. Earlier, he thought that was it and he’s already thankful over the comfortable mittens he received.

“Silly! Of course not. I bought it because I didn’t want your joints to freeze.” Daniel chuckled as he stooped down to reach something from the floor. When he sat back straight, Daehwi’s surprised over the box he was holding.

“Merry Christmas… PD Lee.” Daniel chuckled a little as he handed the gift to the younger. Daehwi’s hand shook a little as he received it. He doesn’t know if it’s something that he think it is but he is suddenly overwhelmed by feelings right now.

“Open it.” Daniel said, almost breathless with the hope of Daehwi liking it.

“Hyung I…”

“Open and see it first.” Daniel instructed again.

With a shaky feeling, Daehwi tore the wrapper and he’s surprised to feel a single tear fall from his eyes. He didn’t even know that he was holding his tears.

“Why are you crying?” Daniel’s worried voice brought him back to reality. He saw the doctor move on the chair beside him.

“This is too much hyung.” Daehwi said, almost a whisper.

“It’s not… it’s something that you need. I’m sorry for the money you lost last time, I know you were saving it for these… don’t think this is too much, please. It’s my Christmas gift.” Daniel sounded really peaceful as he looked at the younger’s eyes. Tears were pooling in his beautifully God given uneven eyes. He reached out to pet his hair as he smiled.

“Thank you, I don’t know how to thank you enough… but thank you.” Daehwi’s voice is hoarse from trying to stop himself from crying.

“You’re welcome.” Daniel continues to smile.

Daniel’s actually happy of what he got for him. He brought him a high speed laptop which he knew the younger needed. He felt bad when he learned that he has been going to internet shops all these time in working with his assignments and such. Daniel actually let him _borrow_ his study room laptop when he needed to work on with the assignments and activities his professors emailed him to catch up. He made sure to have everything that Daehwi needed as a film student to be installed in it as well. He asked the technician about it and good thing that he has installed those applications to some multimedia students who bought a similar laptop as well so he knew what to do.

“Open Sejeong’s gift.” Daniel suggested after he got the laptop for Daehwi’s hands.

“Why?”

“Just open it.” He smiled sheepishly. Daehwi reached for the gift that was on the chair and it is relatively heavy. Upon tearing up the wrapper, he gasped.

“Oh my God!”

“Sejeong loves you more than you think she does. She really wants to make you her brother from another mother.” Daniel chuckled.

“This…” Daehwi stared at it.

“She’ll be so happy if she knows about how you reacted.” Daniel smiled. Sejeong has gifted Daehwi a DSLR and he knows that it’s going to be something really useful for the younger as well. He actually planned to buy it with Daehwi but he suspected Sejeong’s gift when she handed it to him and told him to handle it with care. He asked and she eventually told him.

“These gifts are too much, how do I just accept them?” Daehwi asked in a small voice that just made Daniel smile.

“Don’t you think, this winter, it is your time to be happy?” Daniel tried to pet his hair making Daehwi lift his head to face him.

“Let me get you a drink.” Daniel stood up when he felt a pair of arms circle on his neck that got him frozen on the spot.

Daehwi doesn’t know why but he found himself putting the camera on the table and suddenly circling his arms around the doctor. A soft sob escaped his mouth as he buried his head on his chest. He’s really overwhelmed by emotions right now.

“Daehwi…” Daniel somehow recovered as he found his hand caressing the younger’s back.

“I don’t deserve you, Sejeong noona and everyone…” Daehwi’s voice cracked and that made Daniel move both of his arms around the younger’s back, hoping to calm him down.

“Why?”

“I’m like a male version of a damsel in distress and you’re picking me up from that situation…” Daehwi’s mumbling but Daniel tries his best to figure out what he was saying.

“No you’re not, don’t say that.”

“How do I repay you with everything? Please tell me…” Daehwi’s voice sounded different and his body stiffened between Daniel’s embrace which caught him off guard.

“Daehwi? No. I’m not thinking about that at all.” He knows. He knows what Daehwi was trying to imply and it never crossed his mind.

“Hyung…”

“No, never have I ever thought of that, especially to you.” Daniel feels bad with how Daehwi suddenly reacted right now. He never thought that he’ll be saying or acting that way at all.

“Listen to me.” He removed his arms around him and cupped his face to make his eyes meet his.

“Sejeong, my friends and I… we’re doing this because we care for you. We are not doing this to ask anything in return okay? Please don’t think of yourself like that.” Daniel’s voice is sad and it made tears on Daehwi’s eyes fall once more.

“How did you know what I was talking about?” Daehwi innocently asked.

“Your voice, the sudden change of your embrace, I figured.” Daniel replied. It was the first time Daehwi embraced him aside from the elevator situation back then but he knows it was different and it was not a good type of different.

“I’m sorry… I am….not like that at all… I don’t know what I was thinking… I’m…” Daehwi’s rattling as he looked down, embarrassment cover all over his body as he took a step back causing for Daniel to let go of his face.

“Sorry…” he mumbled.

“Hey, don’t be, I never thought of you like that okay?” Daniel took a step forward and held him in his arms once more.

“This winter… is where your happiness starts, Lee Daehwi.” Daniel whispered softly on the younger’s ears as he caressed his back to sooth his pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the late update! Been busy so I had a little to no time in making updates but finally I was able to make one so I can post this. hehe. I watched the vlive where there were a lot of nielhwi that happened and I was giggling the whole time! They were so soft right? It was cute!
> 
> How was it?   
> Comments?  
> Comments, kudos and hits are very much appreciated. <3
> 
> -irememberyou


	9. NINE

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

NINE

 

 

_“I’ll bring you to your room.” Daniel whispered, breaking the silence between them. He didn’t even realize when he started to sway Daehwi a little in his embrace and only then he realized that there was a music playing in the background._

_“I need to clean up.” Daehwi whispered, head still attached on the doctor’s chest._

_“I’ll do it.” Daniel replied. He knows that the younger is not in any condition to do anything right now._

_“But-“_

_“Let’s go Daehwi.” Daniel surprisingly didn’t break the hug and instead lead little steps towards Daehwi’s room. He’s walking forward while Daehwi’s walking backwards._

_“Do you know of how much of a baby you are in my arms right now?” Daniel chuckled as he petted his hair again. Daehwi just buried his face on chest deeper. For someone who is really busy, Daehwi’s actually surprised by how toned the doctor is._

_Daniel opened the door and led Daehwi to his room._

_“Go to your bed now.” Daniel said as he tried to move Daehwi away from his chest but to his surprise, Daehwi held his top tighter._

_“Don’t look.” Daehwi whispered._

_“Why?”_

_“Just… don’t.” Daniel paused after hearing Daehwi’s words until he realized it. He suppressed a chuckle before taking a deep breath._

_“I will not look, jump to your bed and I’ll immediately turn around and leave.” Daniel played with him. Daehwi didn’t think twice before jumping off the bed and let his back face Daniel who actually followed what he said by turning around. A silly smile plastered on both of their faces._

_Daniel suddenly feels different, after Daehwi left his embrace, he’s surprised by how much he suddenly missed the younger’s presence in his chest. He reached for his chest and took a deep breath before walking towards the door._

_“I’m going out now, you sleep well.” he said without facing the younger._

_“Hyung…” he almost turned around but stopped in mid second._

_“Yes?”_

_“Thank you… for everything.” His voice sounds so peaceful and he can actually say that with how his voice sounds, he’s facing his back and now he badly wants to turn around but he knows the younger will be embarrassed so he stopped himself to do so._

_“You’re welcome Daehwi. Goodnight and Merry Christmas.”_

_“Merry Christmas hyung.” And he grabbed the handle and left the room._

-

 

 

“Daehwi why?” Daniel can’t believe it. He literally sprinted out of the Emergency Room when Nayoung told him that Daehwi came and he’s at the coffee shop nearby the hospital. Good thing that there wasn’t a lot of people and he’s on break.

“I came to talk to Sejeong noona and I came to hand over that.” Daehwi smiled as he pointed at the envelope.

“No.” Daniel almost said in a whisper.

“I told Sejeong noona that I’m moving to my best friend’s place… Jihoon’s new house. He’s been inviting me even before I left my old place but I just accepted the offer now.” Daniel suddenly feel his jaw tighten as he listen to what Daehwi’s saying.

“I don’t want you to think negatively on me because of this I’m-“

“I will never-“

“Let me finish please, hyung.” And Daniel kept his silence.

“I don’t want you to think negatively of me for staying over your place, receive your gifts and receive your best treatment… but I know good things comes to an end.” He paused after seeing Daniel almost opened his mouth to speak but Daniel realized it and bit his lower lip instead.

“But I promised Jihoon and Woojin that I’ll just be at your place until Decemeber… I have been denying their offers enough and I have lived a good life at your place already. It’s time to face the reality again. I’m not stable yet but I got both of my convenient store and waiter job at the bar back. It’s winter break so I can work for extra hours to earn more so it will be enough.” Daehwi continues to speak just like how he thought about what to say earlier.

“I’ll still visit, you can still contact me if you want... you can talk to me if you’re feeling lonely over how things are at the hospital, just like you did before.” Daehwi gulped, he only stayed with him a little over three weeks but why does it feels so hard to go?

“Sejeong noona said she’s happy of my decision and told me to just tell you about it… and she said that she know you’ll understand.” Daehwi tried his best not to break the eye contact from the doctor who is obviously trying his best not to talk.

“That’s not much but that’s the amount I told you about… plus the payment for the phone I bought… winter means higher tips on the bar so I was able to come up with the right amount over the short time.” He tried to sound happy but he doesn’t even know why he was saying those useless things.

“I’ll be cleaning up the place before I leave so don’t worry.” He took a deep breath. _Control yourself Daehwi._

Daehwi then kept his silence until Daniel dared to speak.

“Can I talk now?” he gently asked and Daehwi just nod.

“Why didn’t you give me a notice of this plan of yours? You never mentioned that you promised your best friends that you’ll be staying at my place until December… I never had a clue.” Daniel took a deep breath to gather his thoughts.

“So the breakfast this morning was your farewell breakfast huh?” Daniel sounded bitter and it made Daehwi gulp.

“Hyung it wasn’t… a farewell breakfast… I just wanted to make you one… like I sometimes do.” Daehwi suddenly wants to cry in frustration. On the third day of the New Year, he can’t believe he is doing this.

“You even promised to come with me when I visit the pet shop when I finally decide to get a cat before winter ends-“

“I can still do that hyung.”

“No one will look after the cat since you’ll not be there anymore.” And that kept Daehwi in silence.

“I know I can’t stop you from leaving, heck I don’t even have the rights to do so since you handed me did.” Daniel pointed at the envelope. He knows that giving it back to Daehwi would useless as he’ll still push it over to him.

“You could have at least waited for me to go home.” Daniel sounded so sad that it breaks Daehwi’s heart.

“Jihoon’s moving today so I figured that I should just move in with him so I can help out in cleaning and fixing things, I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to tell you in advance.” _I was afraid that your words will make me stay… just like what you’re doing now._

“Do me a favour.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t leave any of the gifts behind. The laptop, the camera, the mittens, the one from Nayoung, Jaehwan and Jisung hyung even the one from Dr. Kim Minseok… bring them all cause they’re yours.” Daniel had a thought about it so he had to say it.

“I packed them well.” Daehwi tried to smile, an obvious smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Thank you for spending my birthday, Christmas and New Year with me Daehwi…” Daniel doesn’t even know where he got the courage to say that.

“I’m happy this winter, thank you.” lie, it’s still winter and he’s not happy now.

“I had a great time too hyung, all thanks to you.”

“Please contact me if you settled in well.”

“I will.”

Silence then enveloped them again. Two cups of coffee waiting to be drank, an enveloped of cash waiting to be kept and two persons fighting the urge to speak.

“I need to go now, Woojin must be waiting for me at the apartment tower’s mall now.” Daehwi gulped as he stood up.

“I’ll see you next time hyung, please eat well and take good care of yourself, thank you.” and he left just like that. He can’t bear to hear Daniel speak, he’s afraid to change his mind.

Daniel’s mind is scattered all over the place. Did that just happen? Why did he do it? He knows that he can’t have Daehwi in his place for a long time since the younger has this independent mind set but three weeks is not enough, he suddenly feels empty. His eyes darted on the envelope, he doesn’t even want to open it as he grabbed it and hit it in his coat’s inside pocket.

_I thought we were fine? Why?_ He eyed the glass door where Daehwi just exited a few moments ago.

His thoughts were distracted when his phone rang, an emergency message from Nayoung. For now, he needs to erase these thoughts and be the doctor that he is.

_Man up, Kang Daniel._ He stood up and cleared his throat before running back to the hospital leaving the two cups of coffee, obviously untouched.

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

_Morning of Christmas day, Daehwi’s surprised to wake up with the gifts neatly placed at the coffee table inside his room. He didn’t realize that Daniel came back to bring them in, a smile crept on his face. He still can’t believe he received a laptop and a camera on Christmas day. He walked towards the coffee table and starred at the boxes and saw a little note from Sejeong greeting him Merry Christmas and that she hopes he likes the gift._

_“I like it so much noona, thank you.” he talked to the card._

_He proceeded to open the gifts of the others and his smile grew bigger and the overwhelming feeling is coming back. Nayoung gave him a bag that he can obviously use for school. Jisung gave him a pair of rubber shoes, now he figured why Sejeong once texted him asking for his shoe size, must be Jisung’s request. Jaehwan’s gift is really cleaver but he like it so much. It’s a slate with a **PD LEE** written on it and together with it is a well knitted top which he can’t wait to use. He can recall how Jaehwan shared that his mom has a knitted wear business and he feels happy to be able to wear something nurse Jaehwan’s mom made._

_He decided to take a bath after opening the gifts from his Santas and headed out of his room. It’s past 10 in the morning and he’s starving. He actually feels bad for letting Daniel clean up the mess of their dinner._

_Upon entering the kitchen, he found Daniel making his own coffee._

_“Good morning there, it’s Christmas day.” Daniel greeted with his toothy grin. Sometimes, when the doctor is in his casual clothes and looking like a soft puppy, he forgets that he’s actually a respected doctor in a renowned hospital._

_“Merry Christmas hyung, thank you for bringing in the gifts in my room.” Daehwi beamed as he headed towards the coffee maker only to see another cup of coffee beside it._

_“I realized that I don’t know what you like so I just made that one, you can add sugar or milk.” Daniel commented from the side._

_“And you’re welcome.” He added._

_Daehwi proceeded to make the coffee of his liking and sat in front of Daniel._

_“What should we eat for lunch?” he playfully asked._

_“It’s 10 in the morning, why are you thinking of lunch? Are you hungry?” Daniel chuckled._

_“A little, I was just thinking…”_

_“You obviously don’t want to eat a take out…” Daehwi just smiled sheepishly._

_“You can find something in there if you want to cook.”_

_“You haven’t cooked a proper meal for me yet though.” Daehwi pouted a little which Daniel found so cute as a chuckle escaped from his mouth. It’s always Daehwi who is preparing a food for them. He made him a small breakfast before and shared his the snacks he made twice or thrice, he can’t remember._

_“Hey, I cook but I’m not that good okay? I’ve been living with takeouts.” Daniel’s not sure._

_“You can fry a spam and pair it with kimchi and I’ll still eat it… come on hyung, it’s Christmas.” Daehwi’s determined to let the doctor cook which made Daniel chuckle._

_“Really?”_

_“Yes, really.”_

_“I’ll try but I can’t promise, okay?”_

_“I’ll still eat anything.” And another giggle escaped from the future director._

_Daniel rummage around the kitchen. He’s not that familiar with everything yet since it’s Daehwi who mostly used it. Take out is his life and the only familiar place to him is the pantry and the liquor cabinet._

_“Where’s the- oh there.” Daniel can only scratch his nape as he heard a chuckle from his only audience. Daehwi’s seated at the kitchen counter with his arms crossed while watching him._

_“Is this how you lived in your old apartment too?”_

_“I think I got some utensils untouched there… I can’t remember if I even touched my oven there.” Daniel confessed making Daehwi laugh. He’s enjoying watching the doctor clumsily move around his kitchen. He suddenly can’t imagine how he grew up alone and ‘independent’ at all._

_“Let me help you cut that hyung, you’re taking forever… at least I know how to do it.” Daehwi can’t take it anymore as he stood up and approached him._

_“Nope, stay there PD-nim, I can handle this.” Daniel stopped him midtrack and he didn’t bother to fight back and just returned to his place. He actually enjoys it more than thinking about helping him out._

_“Dr. Kang, I know you can heal yourself later on but don’t burn yourself there.” he’s been laughing at the doctor who is actually trying to copy a recipe from the internet. He himself is not sure if how will it taste but he’s sure he’ll eat it. He as eaten ‘worst’ [read: Woojin cooking] so he thinks he’ll be fine._

_“Why is the exhaust not working?” Daniel looked around making Daehwi laugh louder._

_“Because you need to press that blue button first.” He instructed after his laughter died down._

_After seemed like eternity, Daniel managed to create a good looking meal for them._

_“Wow hyung, this looks delicious.” Daehwi can’t help but comment as he found himself taking a picture of it._

_“Does it deserves to be photographed?” Daniel asked._

_“It does, it’s my first meal made by you.” Daehwi chuckled._

_“I’m not sure if how it taste, if it’s awful, let’s order a delivery and we’ll forget that this happened. Promise me.” Daniel’s voice sounded a like a child which made Daehwi smile as he reached for his pinky finger to lock it._

_“Promise.”_

_Daniel nervously watched Daehwi grab his utensil and started eating. He gulped the moment the food entered the younger’s stomach, afraid that he might just spit it in front of his face but to his surprised, the younger’s eyes widen and did two thumbs up._

_“Hyung it taste good! How did you do it?! It’s good! Really!” Daehwi excited chanted after he swallowed them all. He was expecting something wrong with it but it actually taste right. Not bland, not salty or anything, it’s not perfect but it taste so right._

_“Don’t play around.” Daniel pouted._

_“I’m not, go on taste it and forget about your worries over it.” Daehwi reached for the untensils and handed it to Daniel. The doctor, with heavy heart took a good amount of food and placed it in front of his mouth. He’s expecting to face Daehwi’s mock but he’s actually surprised with his own cooking._

_“Oh-“_

_“See? I told you it taste good! Wow, I won’t be mocking you anymore, promise.” Daehwi giggled as he continued eating and somehow, Daniel feels proud of himself._

 

 

 

 

 

-

_“Have you used the entertainment room?” Daniel asked as he sat beside Daehwi on the living room. It’s afternoon and he just came from a nap._

_“No, not yet.” Daehwi replied after he closed the book he was reading._

_“You’re studying on a winter break?” Daniel can’t believe his eyes as he received a chuckle from Daehwi._

_“I need to make a movie analysis but I want to compare it with the book for more credits. I just finished it actually so I just need to watch the film. I don’t want to waste my time doing nothing so I decided to work on it.” Daehwi replied. Even on winter break, they have some small assignments that needs to be passed on the opening of the semester, it’s an advance assignment for them to have early credits to their subjects for that semester._

_“We can watch it on the entertainment room as I was just about to invite you to use it. I haven’t used it myself.” Daniel offered._

_“It’s an old story, you wouldn’t like it.” Daehwi doesn’t want to drag him into his academics._

_“No, I’ll watch it with you. Maybe my remarks can help you out with your analysis too? I’m not good and doesn’t have an eye like how you guys view a film but just take it from a layman’s perspective.” Daniel replied which made Daehwi laugh._

_“Okay hyung, whatever you say.” Daehwi stood up followed by Daniel._

_They headed towards the entertainment room and Daehwi’s still in awe. The wide screen, the convertible chairs, everything feels so luxurious that he suddenly doesn’t want to touch anything._

_“Look for the movie in there, I think there’s a lot so you may find it, I’ll go prepare some popcorn, we need to enjoy this place.” Daniel said as he left the room. (A/N: this reminds me of maybe just maybe, teeheee)_

_As the movie started, Daniel’s taken a back. He never knew of the movie’s existence and it’s somehow old. He’s surprised that the drive has it. He started munching in the popcorn he made, he also provided one can of soda each._

_Daehwi’s eyes are glued on the screen. The more that it is unfamiliar, the more that he knows he needed to focus into it. He made short notes in phone so he won’t forget since the light is turned off so he can’t write. His attention was suddenly captured by a soft snoring sound beside him and he knew, he’s out. A soft chuckle escaped his mouth after he turned to look at the sleeping doctor with his soft breathing and snoring while hugging himself._

_“You really fell asleep.” Daehwi chuckled as he reached for the popcorn and the soda that was beside Daniel and kept it to his side to ensure the safety in case it fall._

_The movie ended and Daniel’s still asleep. Daehwi decided to turn on the lights and started scribbling notes on the notebook he brought inside. He doesn’t want to leave the comfort of the luxurious entertainment room yet and he doesn’t want to leave the sleeping doctor alone inside it too so he decided to make his draft there._

_-_

_Daehwi’s surprised to see Daniel’s car outside the bar on time of his end shift. They have closed and everything’s good. He missed the bar, his co-waiters and even Shindong. The one who ‘replaced’ him is nice too, just around his age so they clicked immediately. As it’s winter break, the bar is just filled with people, mostly are university students who took a break from the hideous academic demands. He even saw some familiar faces around._

_“What are you doing here hyung?”Daehwi immediately asked after Daniel lowered down the window._

_“I figured you’ll have a hard time getting a ride home so I dropped by. Don’t worry, I came from the hospital.” Daniel replied. He knew that today is Daehwi’s first night back to working as a waiter and he purposely extended his hours at the hospital so he can fetch him like this. Jisung’s actually thankful that he was around since he needed to review on some files so Daniel was able to cover him in the ER for a while._

_“You didn’t have to.” Daehwi then entered the car._

_“Just for tonight okay? I wanted to see the way back home too…” Daniel replied as he started driving. Daehwi didn’t even realize if he saw the presence of his co-workers or not or did he even bid goodbye. His eyes just landed on the car and his heart skipped a bit._

_-_

_Two days before New Year and Daehwi’s excited. Jisung gave him and Daniel a free ticket to a fireworks display for New Year’s countdown and so they’re headed out for New Year. Daniel’s hospital friends will be coming over too so Daehwi’s excited to meet them._

_It’s just the afternoon and he doesn’t have a shift at the convenient store so he’s just waiting for the time for him to leave for the bar. He decided to read at the veranda but its cold and it’s snowing so he just closed the book and leaned over the railings. The snow is so pretty and he’s drawn into the sight when a pair of arms circled around his waist, obviously startling the sanity from the younger’s body._

_“Hyung?!” he snapped upon feeling Daniel’s head on his shoulder. He wanted to turn around but Daniel held him tighter, head still on his shoulder._

_“Did you drink? At this hour?” Daehwi can smell the reek of alcohol from his breathing and Daniel just blew out some air, Daehwi can only roll his eyes._

_“Is there something wrong hyung?” Daehwi asked. He knows that the doctor loves drinking but it’s unusual for him to drink in the afternoon… or he just doesn’t know about it?_

_“uhmsfdfdfasdfgqewrt” Daniel’s mumbling words just confused the heck out of Daehwi._

_“Hyung you’re drunk and you don’t have your coat with you… let’s go inside.” Daehwi only noticed that Daniel seemed to be wearing one layer of clothing only and his hands are cold as ice when Daehwi held them around his waist. He likes the familiar feeling just like the embrace during Christmas Eve but it’s a different situation now._

_“I never said I wanted a promotion, I never said I’m greedy for money or power.” Daniel suddenly said and that made Daehwi stop moving. He can feel Daniel’s arms tighten around his waist, his body getting closer to him as he’s obviously leaning on his smaller frame, head still on his shoulder._

_“Go on…” Daehwi whispered._

_“Those self-centered so-called doctors thinks so highly of themselves… I’m not trying to get into any political side of the hospital…” Daniel paused as a short hiccup escaped him._

_“They knew about the promotion Dr. Kim Minseok is trying to process for me and they didn’t like it… I told Dr. Kim Minseok that I don’t want it for now and they’re still noisy about it… why do they even care?” he clicked his tongue as he tightened his embrace again. Daehwi remained silent, letting him talk freely despite how the coldness is starting to creep in Daehwi’s though he must admit, Daniel’s embrace behind him is giving him so much comfort. He tried to hold Daniel’s hand tighter as well, hoping that it can give some heat on his frozen fingers._

_“I’m just tired of how politics and power matters more than saving people… didn’t we made a pledge about that?” he chuckled._

_“I’m actually afraid that what if I reach that point in my life, will I be like them as well?” he snorted. His eyes are closed, head still on Daehwi’s shoulder and this time, he held Daehwi’s hands that were holding his as he felt comfort and heat from them._

_“You won’t…” Daehwi whispered._

_“I have always wanted to be like my mentor, Dr. Kim Minseok, he was never shaken by them… but I’m afraid I might not have the same mental strength as him. They literally bad mouth him for being young and yet reach his status now and no one has done that aamong them, for getting good works and finding good patients… I feel bad for him but I can’t do anything.” Daehwi thinks he figure out his drinking habits now._

_He occasionally drinks when he’s tired from the hospital or if he’s not on call. He drinks when there’s special occasion. He drinks adequately when he’s faced into some dilemma. He drinks buckets if he wants to just forget and pass out… and right now, he thinks that he drank in order to have courage to pour things out and Daehwi believes that he may not be able to remember what he’s saying when he wakes up in sober._

_“Did Dr. Kim Minseok told you about anything?” Daehwi knows how much Daniel looks up to the doctor. He’s really nice and acts like a kid. He was really thankful on the ‘gift set’ from him and Daniel and he reported to them at how he wore the strap and the chain to his cats and even took a picture to show them. He gave Daehwi a complete book series about a person and its growing up dilemmas and Daehwi really likes it. He’s on the second book now actually._

_“He never talks about it and that makes me feel worst… I know he’s defending me from them and I can’t do anything. I’m still young, got a lot of experiences and bumps ahead of me… I cannot go against them but sometimes they’re too much.” Daniel sounded so sad that it breaks Daehwi’s heart. He doesn’t have much idea how politics and powers works in a hospital’s organizational board aside from what he usually sees in the internet but of course, it can highly be commercialized so he doesn’t really know what’s true._

_“What do you want to do now?”_

_“Forget.”_

_“That’s why you drank?” Daniel’s silent._

_“As what you said, Dr. Kim Minseok is strong… if he doesn’t tell you anything, try asking him… sometimes you just have to ask… and for those people looking down on you just because of those promotions crap that I have no idea about…” he paused to glance at Daniel who scrunched his nose._

_“Just let them be. They must be so hungry of power that’s why they do that. They must be lonely too that’s why they want to see other’s happiness… it’s a natural human behaviour that is not easy to be changed hyung.” He gripped on Daniel’s frozen hands._

_“You’re strong enough to face them so don’t be afraid okay? I’m here if you need someone to listen.” He took a deep breath and he can finally remove Daniel’s embrace but instead, he turned around to face him. A small laughter escape him ater seeing his red cheeks, his drunk blush looks so cute on him._

_“Let’s go in now okay? It’s getting cold and I don’t want you to get sick.” Daehwi placed Daniel’s arm around his shoulder and started guiding him inside. It’s a constant struggle with how big and heavy the doctor is but he got no choice, no one is there to help him._

_He’s actually figuring out how the doctor was able to drive home safely… or did he knock off something on his way home? He’ll never know._

_The stress in the hospital is piling and Daniel knew he did something out of hand. He drank in the afternoon light after leaving the hospital but he wasn’t that wasted and was able to go home. When he arrived inside the unit, he immediately looked for Daehwi and the coldness in the centralized unit drew him to the open door heading to the veranda. He immediately saw Daehwi leaning on the rails and his tiny back just draw him as he found himself embracing his back. He’s so small in between his embrace but he can feel the comfort of his touch. Even with just like this, he can feel a glint of relief shot across his system._

_-_

_Daehwi stared blankly at the milktea Jihoon ordered for him. Jihoon and Woojin exchanged looks and then back at him._

_“Are you going to talk or are we going to blindly guess why you called us to meet?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally found some time to update! Hehe :) I'm trying to pick up my pace so I can work on for more chapters. This was just supposed to be 15 chapters like maybe just maybe but when I plotted, I think it'll go beyond 15? Let's see. :)  
> How was it?  
> Comments, kudos and hits are greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for reading! <3
> 
> -irememberyou


	10. TEN

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

TEN

 

_Two days before the coffee shop meeting…_

Daehwi’s confused and he knows it’s not just a normal confusion. It’s his feelings that is confusing him and he hates it.

Daniel, it’s Kang Daniel. That one man that has been bugging his mind these days.

He can still clearly remember how he found the doctor handsome the first time he saw him when they bought Jaehan to the hospital. He can still remember how he saw him at the bar, wasted. The time he came to the convenient store to buy food for his residents. The time he had to drag him to his own apartment after he got wasted for the second time at the bar… and the time that he saved him from an utmost danger he was in.

The memories when he was still at the hospital, the fact that he let him stay at his place… the way he treats him, he talks to him, he approaches him, everything just makes him feel all kinds of emotion that he sometimes hate himself for it.

Does he like the doctor? Probably he does and that is what he fears right now. It’s not the age difference that is bothering him, it’s the fact that he will never be enough for the doctor. Call him someone who pities himself too much but that’s true. He self-pity more than anyone can think of. His pride is the only thing he has for himself but as much as he tries to hold up his pride, the more he pities himself and right now, he just knows that he’s not someone for the doctor… or does the doctor even returns his feelings?

Daehwi’s not dense. There are times that he can feel butterflies in his stomach when the doctor is there, there are times that he can see the doctor blush when they make contact, when they talk and he hopes it’s not just him assuming things… but still, he doesn’t deserve him. He’s aware that the doctor is somehow like him when it comes to preferences but that doesn’t mean that he’ll eventually like him right? Daniel’s a doctor, someone who is already soaring high and will be soaring higher in the future. He’s got one of the brightest future who deserves to be happy all his life and Daehwi knows… he’s not fit to be beside him… at all.

 

Daehwi sighs as he stares at the blank ceiling of his room. He’s been accustomed in living here for almost a month. Daniel’s face flashed in his mind again, he closed his eyes.

_What has gotten into you, Lee Daehwi?_

 

This may also just be an infatuation. The doctor’s been too nice to him, he must have mistaken it as _like,_ but what if he’s wrong?

 

Daehwi’s been tossing and turning on the bed. It’s his day off from the convenient store although he didn’t want to have it but some older employees requested so he had no choice. He decided to get up of the bed and head out, only to see flashes of Daniel sitting on the couch laughing and his mind just went on chaos.

_This won’t do._

He fished for his phone inside his pocket and decided to call the persons who can definitely help him out.

**_Calling Park Jihoon_ **

_-_

Daehwi stared blankly at the milktea Jihoon ordered for him. Jihoon and Woojin exchanged looks and then back at him.

“Are you going to talk or are we going to blindly guess why you called?” Jihoon asked as he reached for his own milk tea.

“Daehwi, talk.” Woojin raised a brow and Daehwi can only gulp. On his way to their meet up place after having Jihoon and Woojin agree to meet up, his mind is on total chaos and he doesn’t know if he’s deciding for his peace of mind or he’s deciding to avoid whatever _feelings_ he is having inside.

“When are you moving into your own place?” Daehwi managed to ask without making an eye contact with Jihoon.

“Day after tomorrow, why? Have you finally decided to move with me?” Jihoon took a grip on the situation as he saw Daehwi slightly nod.

“Are you sure? You seemed… undecided.” Woojin crossed his arms on his chest as they waited for Daehwi to lift his head up to look at them.

“You can look at us you know.” Woojin continues to wait as he can feel Jihoon nudge his elbow. Slowly, Daehwi lifted his head and met their eyes, a gulp followed.

“I want to move in with you, Jihoon.”

“Is there something wrong? Did something happen that you didn’t tell us again?” Jihoon knows that his best friend promised to tell them everything but of course, it’s Daehwi. He always got stuffs that he opt not to say even if it may take some weight in his heart.

“No, there’s none.” Daehwi took a deep breath.

“I told you that I’m moving out after December right? Well it’s the first week of January, I think it’s time for me to leave. I don’t want to burden the doctor anymore.” Daehwi explained.

“Have you told him?” Jihoon asked.

“I did.” He lied.

“I’m going to give my month’s stay payment on the day I’m moving out. I’ll move in with you on the same day so I can help out.” Daehwi continued and as two of his _best_ friends, Jihoon and Woojin just won’t buy this.

_There’s really something._ Woojin thought. Daehwi’s not someone who doesn’t usually meet their eyes on conversations so the way he acts right now is suspicious. Before Woojin can even fish for more information, Jihoon spoke.

“I’m glad! I’m so excited to finally live with you again! We can do a lot of stuffs and that’s what I have been waiting for!” Jihoon’s delightful voice brighten up Daehwi as he smiled.

“Without me?” Woojin asked.

“Yes, without you.” Jihoon rolled his eyes on him. For a moment, Woojin forgot about interrogating Daehwi as his FOMO for the future situation if Daehwi moves in with Jihoon kept on playing in his mind, he can’t be missed out!

“But-“

“I’m still going to pay okay? Just tell me how much and I’ll start by next month but I think I can go on double pay by then? I just don’t have much right now since I’m going to pay for my stay and my debt to _Dr. Kang._ ” Daehwi cut off Woojin since he knows that it will just turn into some useless bicker between the two. At the same time, he found it odd when the words _Dr. Kang_ came out from his mouth. _Hyung._

“No problem! Will 50-50 be fine with you?” Jihoon asked, thinking of the possible options though he knows that he doesn’t really need Daehwi to pay since his parents are covering but of course, Daehwi’ wouldn’t like that, at all.

“Yes! That’s good!” Daehwi replied.

“For the grocery, we can just go on grocery together and divide the price, what do you think?”

“That’s a good idea!” Daehwi beamed. Moving in with Jihoon… is not a bad idea at all? He hopes.

“Excuse me, I’m still here.” Woojin raised a hand earning another glare from Jihoon.

“It’s a talk between future housemates, you’re not related to this.”

“Can I move in too?”

“No. it’s only good for two people.” Woojin acted hurt and Jihoon can only roll his eyes. He came to the place to check on the needed furniture and Jihoon must admit that the place is really spacious, he even asked his parents if he can just move to a smaller place but they said that they wanted him to comfortable and he can invite his friends over. He doesn’t know what he did in his past life to deserve his foster parents.

“Thank you for your help Jihoon.”

“No problem, housemate.”

“Housemate.”

“Housemate.” Woojin repeated what Daehwi said with a smug look on his face making Daehwi laugh. _This will do._

 

-

 

“Hello, Daehwi?” Daniel smiled the moment the other line answered the call.

“Hyung, why did you call?”

“I just called to say I won’t be going home tonight, I may be home tomorrow afternoon. Got a big surgery coming up at dawn so I need to stay.” Daniel informed. He was just called by Dr. Kim Minseok so of course, he needed to do it.

“Oh I see.” There’s a pause on the other line so Daniel waited.

“Goodluck on your surgery, I know you’ll do well.” Daniel can imagine Daehwi smile so it made his heart calm down. Surgery at dawn is rare… unless it’s a VIP and until now, Dr. Kim Minseok has yet to disclose who the patient is, Daniel just hopes that everything goes well.

“Thank you Daehwi, I needed that.” He heard him chuckle on the other side.

“Do you have anything more to say hyung?”

“Did I call on the wrong timing?”

“Not really, I’m just about to leave to the bar.” Daehwi replied.

“Oh right, careful on your way home later okay?”

“I will hyung.” Another chuckle from the other line. Daniel doesn’t want to end it yet but he knows that Daehwi needs to leave so he decided to end the conversation by reminding him to be alert for danger on his way home, earning another chuckle from the younger.

 

“Tell me honestly.” Daniel flinched at the voice. He’s inside the doctor’s lounge and he doesn’t remember seeing anyone earlier.

“What are you doing here hyung?” Daniel watched Jisung’s dishevelled hair as he sat on the chair in front of him.

“Sleeping?” Jisung stated in a matter of fact voice as he tried fixing his hair.

“You look worse.” Daniel commented earning a glare from the doctor.

“I was on all for the ER the whole day, I can’t remember signing up for this slavery.” Jisung groaned, Daniel can only laugh. A usual line they often say.

“But going back to you.” Jisung regained himself as he raised a brow at Daniel.

“I came to sleep too.” Daniel replied innocently.

“Sleep the crap you want Kang Daniel. I heard you were talking to Daehwi right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you like the kid?!”

“He’s not a kid hyung, he’s legal.” Daniel stated and Jisung’s eyes widen, the widest it can ever be.

“OH MY GOD!” he gasped as he covered his mouth.

“Hyung!”

“YOU LIKE HIM! OR YOU LOVE HIM!? CRAP KANG DANIEL!” Jisung’s voice raised the more he talk making Daniel reach to cover his mouth but Jisung fought back, eyes still wide.

“I’m still your hyung! Go back to your seat!” Jisung acted tough as he pushed Daniel back to his chair.

“So you do?!” Jisung asked again.

“What are you even saying hyung.” Daniel gulped. Does he?

“Fck! I should have known.” Jisung shakes his head as he rested his elbows to the coffee table.

“Know what?”

“That this is the reason behind it all!” Jisung looked at Daniel’s eyes and Daniel just looked at him in pure confusion which made him weave a sigh.

“You looked for him when he was gone, you helped him, you set yourself as his guardian when he was hospitalized, you had him stay in your place, had him come over on dinners and I swear, the way you look at him, talk to him, treat him… it’s really…. Different.” Jisung tries to recall everything in his head.

“But hyung-“

“You don’t dare to lie to me Kang Daniel. I’ve known you for so long! It’s not because you wanted to help, nor because Sejeong asked you to… Daniel, think about it.” Jisung leaned on his chair and crossed his arms on his chest. He watched Daniel sternly as he tries to analyze the situation more in his mind.

Daniel gulped. Does he? He thinks he does… he surely does. He realized it the moment Daehwi landed on his arms, crying for help. There was something with Daehwi that tugged his heart. At first it was infatuation, he can surely tell but this time, as they progress, he knows it’s becoming something more than that.

“I’m afraid.” He finally spoke.

“Why?”

“Afraid that he might not like you back?” Jisung continued.

“Afraid that he’ll push me if he finds out.” Daniel sighed. He’s not a psych but he can somehow understand what kind of person Daehwi is and he’s afraid that he’ll just push him away if he actually finds out. Daehwi is someone who doesn’t want to ask help form others unless he needs it very much. He can put the example of him choosing to stay at the subway instead of asking for his friends help. He can put it in that way, Daehwi might leave his side if he finds out that he has _feelings_ for him instead of facing him… and Daniel doesn’t want that to happen.

“You’ll never know-“

“If I don’t try… I know that.” He sighed.

“What’s stopping you? the fact that he might push you away?”

“Daehwi doesn’t want to be dependent to others, that tells how he doesn’t like committing himself to others too hyung, it’s clear.” Daniel looked down as he closed his eyes.

“Having him stay in my place was all because of Sejeong, if it wasn’t because of her not wanting to sign his discharge papers because he doesn’t have a place to stay, do you think he’ll allow himself stay with me? No.” he sighed again. He’s been bottling these things up for some time now and he never thought that he’ll end up talking about it with Jisung, just a few hours before he scrubs in for a huge surgery. Now his mind is going to more chaotic than it already is.

“I honestly never paid much attention before… even though I noticed it, I decided to ignore it. I like Daehwi’s personality and I can see that he’s taking good care of you… he obviously makes you happy too.” Jisung’s voice is now calm as he understands what Daniel is going through right now.

“But then I think… you should tell him if you’re ready.”

“If I’m ready…” Daniel repeated Jisung’s last line.

“Remember when you finally told Dr. Kim Minseok that you’re ready to scrub in during your residency?” Jisung tried to make Daniel recall and he saw him nod a little.

“It took you some time right? Courage too? It may not be the same situation, heck it surely not similar!” Jisung smiled a little.

“But you just have to apply the same type of decision making you did. Ask yourself if you’re ready, if you have enough courage and if you do, tell him.” Jisung waited for Daniel too look at him in the eyes as he smiled at him.

“I don’t think he’ll reject you.” Jisung’s not some fortune teller but he believes in his instincts and right now, he has a strong feeling about Daehwi too… he just hopes he’s right.

“I…” Daniel sighed.

“Thank you hyung.” He decided not to speak and just thank the older. He knows he’ll only mention about how he’s not confident but again, Jisung will tell him that nothing will happen unless he tries and he knows he’s right. He don’t want to lose Daehwi so right now, he can only hope for the best… until the time he’s ready to tell him comes.

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi smiled upon entering the unit, not finding the other house slipper there. Last night, he felt weird when he came home from the bar with Daniel’s house slippers at the entrance. This morning, when he left for the convenient store, he still found the house slipper there and now that he’s back from the short shift, he can’t help but smiling knowing that the older is back. Feeling the butterflies in his stomach is weird but he decided to brush it off as he headed to his room. He knows that the doctor must be asleep and can’t be disturb until tonight or even until tomorrow morning.

 

 

He looked up at the empty closet while he held the remaining clothes he took out close to his chest. A heavy sigh leaving him.

_You’re a coward, Lee Daehwi._

He turned to face the bed and started to pack the remaining clothing in his two bags. He’s leaving tomorrow and so it’s better to fix everything now.

After closing the half empty bags, his eyes landed on the coffee table. There lies the gifts he received from Daniel’s friends. Half of him wants to leave them, to accept the fact that he can’t have them easily… but he also knows that he’ll end up disappointing them… and he knows it’s close to impossible to have his hands on these stuffs again.

Daehwi stood up from the bed and headed to the table. He grabbed the camera and a smile formed on his face. He placed it inside the bag and did the same with the laptop that came from Daniel. He was in awe when he opened it and found every application that he needed, something that he doesn’t need to get as a crack as it’s a full and paid version that he can freely upgrade. He knows that it may have caused fortune and Daniel just willingly spent them for this gift. His ID badge gift can never relate but at least… it came from his own effort right?

After packing them on the bag that Nayoung gave him, he decided to hide everything in the closet again, making sure that Daniel wouldn’t see it as he haven’t told him anything yet. He knows that he’s bad for doing it but he don’t think he can spend a day in the house after telling Daniel about it so his plan of leaving is the best way to leave peacefully.

 

 

 

-

 

Daehwi smiled as he felt satisfied with how he set up the table for breakfast. He just made spam fried rice for their breakfast and coffee with some left over side dishes. He waited for Daniel to come out. It’s the usual time that the doctor gets up so he’s sure that he’ll be out in no time.

Fifteen minutes later, Daniel came out, fresh from the shower, dressed up but with a towel on his hand, obviously using it to dry his hair.

“My hair dryer broke down, can I borrow the one in your room?” Daniel asked. Daehwi immediately ran towards the door of his room which made Daniel chuckle.

“Good morning by the way.” Daniel greeted.

“Good morning hyung! Let me get it for you, breakfast is served by the way.” Daehwi said and entered the room immediately, afraid that Daniel might see something though he has kept everything in the closet and there’s nothing much that changed in the bathroom too.

He came rushing with the hair dryer on his hand only to see Daniel smelling the spam fried rice.

“This smells good!” Daniel recognized his presence, especially with his cute foot steps.

“I figured we’ve had enough of pancakes and reheated meals for breakfast so I decided to make spam fried rice.” Daehwi explained as he placed the hair dryer on the chair beside Daniel and sat across him.

The two started eating and Daniel started telling Daehwi a story about a nice patient he treated inside yesterday. Daehwi also told him about a drunk customer that mistook Moonbok as a girl which has actually happened a lot of times. The breakfast was filled with a lot of stories and Daehwi still volunteered to clean up even if Daniel insisted and told him to just continue to dry his hair using the dryer even if it has dried already.

Daniel left the house first as Daehwi said that there’s a small changes on their schedule so he still has some time to spare.

When Daniel left, Daehwi took his phone and typed a message.

 

**_Woojin, pick me up at the mall in three hours._ **

****

****

 

 

-

 

 

_Present Time..._

Daniel hates how unfocused he is. He was able to treat patients well but each time he gets a time short rest time, his mind is over Daehwi. He touched his chest pocket to feel the envelope that left him earlier.

“Want to talk about it?” Daniel’s surprised to see Sejeong standing beside him, leaning at the nurse’s station like he does.

“I’m fine.”

“I didn’t ask if how are you, I asked if you want to talk about it.”

“I don’t.”

“Daehwi left?” he sighed.

“He told me that he has rejected his friends enough, at least he was able to live in your place for a short time.” Sejeong waited for Daniel to meet her eyes but the doctor never lifted his eyes from his clasped hands on the counter.

“Give him time.” Sejeong sighed.

“It may also be the time for you to think.” Sejeong continued.

“What are you talking about?”

“Think if you really like him.” and that made Daniel turn to look at her, Sejeong’s expression is too seriously for Daniel to think that she’s playing around.

“What- did you hear Jisung hyung and I?” Daniel’s confused with his words as Sejeong looked at him weirdly until the female doctor somehow connected what he meant.

“I may or I may not have heard you and Dr. Yoon…” she paused and took a deep breath.

“But I’m not blind not to notice it Dr. Kang.” Sejeong pressed her lips into a line before taking a deep breath.

“Daehwi’s not hard to be liked, to be loved. I want him to be happy and if you could give it to him, I’ll be willing to support you… but for now…” she paused again to make sure that Daniel’s looking into her eyes.

“Daehwi must need this time, I don’t really believe that it’s just because he wanted to accept his friends’ offer, his eyes says so. Whatever the other reason is, we… you just have to accept it, okay?” Sejeong reached out for Daniel’s shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

“He’s not going anywhere, you can still contact him. For now, just think about how you truly feel.” Sejeong’s not really good with talking about love but she hopes she can make Daniel understand what she’s trying to say.

After a long pause, Daniel nod and returned his eyes on his clasped hands on the counter and mouthed a soft thank you.

The whole conversation, Nayoung remained quiet as she sat inside the counter, trying to focus on her job while getting some of the conversation between Sejeong and Daniel and she must say, she agrees with what Sejeong is saying. It’s not hard to analyze that the younger is actually someone special to the male doctor and not just some _friend._

-

 

Daniel wanted to stay in the hospital but the lounge is full and Sejeong practically dragged him out of the hospital as she seemed to figure out what he’s trying to do.

_“Go home and rest.”_ Were Sejeong’s last words before they parted ways at the car park.

 

He knows it’s going to be really different and he hates the fact that the moment he opened the door, Daehwi’s not there anymore. Daehwi’s extra shoes is not on the rack anymore, the house slippers that he used is now back on the rack, obviously not going to be used anymore. A heavy sigh escaped Daniel.

The place is still new to him, it has only been a month since he moved in and now it feels more foreign with the thought that the housemate he had is not around anymore. He doesn’t even have any plan to enter the room that Daehwi used.

He walked towards the kitchen for a glass of water only to see how spotless the kitchen is, Daehwi obviously cleaned up before he left just like what he said earlier. He went to open the fridge and a sigh escaped his mouth again, the fridge is stocked up, different from what he saw before he left this morning. Daehwi did a grocery before he left.

_Why didn’t you tell me first?_

 

The thought of drinking a glass of water didn’t sit in his mind anymore as he just closed the fridge and headed straight to his room, hoping that a cold shower can wash away the thoughts of the younger boy in his mind.

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi watches his passed out best friend beside him. Moving in was not hard as everything seemed perfect already. Jihoon’s foster parents liked him too and they assured him that he can stay as long as he wants. They ate their first dinner together as Jihoon’s mom made a sumptuous dinner. Daehwi’s amazed by how the two took a break from their busy schedule just to make sure that Jihoon’s able to move in properly. Woojin was with them the whole time but he had to leave after dinner as Jihoon’s parents offered him a ride home, one that he can’t reject.

The two decided to watch a movie on the living room after they have finished fixing their own closets but Jihoon passed out thirty minutes into the movie.

A bitter smile formed on Daehwi’s lips after he remembered how Daniel fell asleep inside the entertainment room when he insisted to watch the movie that Daehwi had to work on for additional credits.

_He must be home already._ A sigh escaped his mouth after he glanced at the clock to find the usual time Daniel arrive home from the hospital.

“Should I text him?” Daehwi glanced at his phone. He doesn’t want the doctor to think that he’s erasing him from his life, after taking much courage, he decided to type and sent it without thinking twice.

**_I know it’s late but I just want to say that I am done moving in. I hope you can find the house clean as it was when I left. Rest well and goodnight Dr. Kang._ **

****

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel’s phone vibrated but his eyelids are too heavy to even open his eyes. Emergency are done through calls, a text message wouldn’t mean emergency and it can wait for tomorrow. He drank a medicine for headache that is with drowse as he felt a headache after he left the shower, he must have stayed under the water for so long.  He’s just thankful that the medicine is working now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooppsss! Did I just post that? hehe, I think I did right? hahaha! Okay first of all, nope I'm not back with UIA yet but I'm guilty for not posting a story behind chapter nine so I decided to drop this today. If you went on to read 'In Between Flights and Layovers' thank you! I'll try my best to be back here as soon as possible so let's just say we're on semi-hiatus here?? Been busy too, I hope you'll understand <3
> 
> Oh and another thing, guys!!! I was so surprised to see how this fic is being accepted by you... guys thank you so much for reading and leaving a comment and giving kudos, I don't know what else to say than thank you <3 <3 I hope I can express how thankful I am? <3 
> 
> But how was it? Everything is very much appreciated <3
> 
> -irememberyou


	11. ELEVEN

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

ELEVEN

 

Ten days, ten days since Daehwi left and the last time they ‘talked’ was when he replied to his text message the night he moved out of his place.

**_I fell asleep last night. Good morning Daehwi! That’s good to hear._ **

****

And Daehwi just replied with two stickers. One says ‘good morning’ and the other says ‘have a good day’ and Daniel didn’t know what to reply.

In ten days, he has drowned himself in the hospital, especially that there is an upcoming convention where he is required to attend. He volunteered together with Jisung to help out Dr. Kim Minseok with his presentation. The ER has been extremely busy these days too, especially with road accident patients because of how slippery and dangerous most of the roads in Seoul these days. It has been alarming and the government are trying to solve it as the weather is not doing any better.

Daniel sighed as he glanced at the time, past 12 midnight and they’re still inside Dr. Kim Minseok’s office. The doctor has left to prepare for a doctor’s monthly conference the next day so the two decided to stay behind and do more research.

“Hyung, want to drink coffee?” Daniel asked.

“My body is literally living because of coffee now.” Jisung grunted.

“What do you want? I can swing in some time to go to the cafeteria, I’m still waiting for an access code for a PDF book I downloaded.” Daniel said as he stood up.

“That’s so nice of you.” Jisung lifted his eyes from the laptop and Daniel just rolled his eyes.

“Come on hyung.”

“Get me a sandwich and iced tea, I think that’ll suffice.” Jisung said.

“Got it.” Daniel then headed out, making a mental note to get some candies too.

On his way to the cafeteria, his phone vibrated for a text message and it made him change direction towards the emergency room.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Daehwi’s tired. Before work started at the bar, they were asked by Shindong to move bricks on the entrance so that it wouldn’t be slippery until customers can reach the carpet. Everyone did and now they’re all tired while serving. Daehwi can only chuckle seeing how Moonbok’s been massaging his shoulders as the older was ‘competing’ with Sanggyun earlier, the one who known to be exercising every morning among them if who can carry the most bricks. Right now, Moonbok’s suffering over his own competitiveness.

The busy night was suddenly disturbed by a sudden screaming and commotion outside. Daehwi got alerted as the bouncers of the club started to control the crowd from coming out to see while Shindong came running from the lounge to check. He also skipped his way to the door.

His jaw dropped upon seeing the customer who just finished billing out.

“No one touch him! Do we have a doctor here? a nurse or any medical representative? Sanggyun call 119!” Shindong started to shout while the man is surely suffering in pain. He obviously slipped and it looks like a bad one.

“Mister, please stay awake…” Daehwi stooped down, he almost touched his shoulder but decided not to.

“Hurts… it… hurts…” the man kept on mumbling as the pain is visible on his face.

“119 is on the way!” Sanggyun started shouting. A woman who introduced herself as a nurse came to help but she said that she already drank a few bottles and just instructed not to touch him to prevent any possible damage on his spine.

“I also called his contact person, his wife instructed to bring him to Seoul University Hospital.” Sanggyun came running again.

“Daehwi come with the customer, use this until he’s treated. I need to do the control here, you can do it right?” Shindong instructed as he passed him the card. Daehwi nod as he received the card.

The 119 arrived and they immediately did the first aid to the man. As he was being moved to the spine board, Shindong told them where to bring him while Moonbok came running.

“Daehwi your bag you might need something later.” Moonbok handed Daehwi his bag. Daehwi said his thank you and rode the 119 to accompany the customer, hoping that he’ll be alright and the bar to be in a good situation after the incident too.

119 started asking him questions on their way to the hospital that seemed to take forever. He only answered questions that could be found on the customer’s profile that Sanggyun passed to him earlier.

 

 

 

 

Upon arriving at the hospital, it’s only the time he realized they’re at the hospital where Daniel’s working at… the person whom he haven’t get in contact to for 10 days… and counting. His mind was all over the place because of the customer that he forgot about the hospital.

“Daehwi?!” Jaehwan called his attention upon coming out of the 119 vehicle.

“Jaehwan hyung!”

“What happened?” another doctor spoke and the 119 officer started to talk and Jaehwan’s attention was diverted as he had to do his job. Daehwi quietly followed them, hoping for the best.

 

 

 

 

Daniel came breathless the moment he entered the emergency room. Jaehwan’s text got him running across two buildings to get on the ER immediately.

**_Daehwi’s here at the emergency room._ **

That was Jaehwan’s text and now he feels dumb for not asking if what happened to him. His adrenaline had him running towards the ER.

“Daehwi!” he called, almost shouting which garnered attention of a few patients and doctors inside the ER causing him to mouth a sorry as his eyes roamed around.

“Hyung!” his eyes widen upon hearing his voice, there he is, running his way towards him while hugging his bag.

“Daehwi!” he unconsciously opened his arms and pulled the younger to his embrace despite him stopping infront of him.

“What happened?” he asked as the feeling of having the younger in his arms made him not want to let him go. _It’s been some time, I miss you._

“A customer had to be brought here for emergency.” Daehwi said in the middle of the hug. He can’t move his arms to at least, circle it around the doctor’s waist as he’s holding his bag in between them but the smell of the doctor that is mixed with the hospital smell made him think of _home._

“Hyung.” He snapped back to reality as he tried to get away from the embrace of the doctor. Daniel realized their situation and where they are which made him let go of Daehwi when he felt that he was already pushing him. Daniel gulped as he looked down. Did he just made a fool of himself? He don’t know. They’re near the door of the ER and he has no idea if how many people saw them.

“I… thought it was you.” Daniel stammered as he looked down.

“How-“

“Jaehwan messaged him.”

“I see.” Daehwi gulped as he looked up only to meet Daniel’s eyes.

“The customer slipped outside the bar, it was a bad fall.” Daehwi realized that he hasn’t told Daniel about the situation yet.

“Is the customer behind that?” Daniel asked as he pointed at the closed curtain where Daehwi was standing earlier.

“Yes.” Daniel immediately made his way there as Daehwi followed behind, still hugging his bag.

 

The man was had to undergo x-ray and CT scan. The wife came and Daehwi had to deal with her as deep inside, he’s really afraid that the wife might burst unto him.

“Are you telling me that my husband is too drunk to even walk?!”

“No ma’am, he was still sober when he left but the snow caused the way to be slippery. We placed some bricks and carpet but he slipped the moment he has gone through that pathway.” Daehwi explained calmly.

“So it’s his fault? And now we don’t know if what will happen to him-“

“No ma’am, as what I have said, the bar is going to pay for the hospitalization and other needs-“

“Is this how your bar is saving face-“

“Ma’am I’m sorry but-“

“Hi, may I know the family of the patient?” someone cleared his throat that caught the attention of the two.

“He’s my husband.” The wife introduced herself. Daehwi also faced the two doctors and gulped. He met Daniel’s eyes and he knows that he was the one who cleared his throat. The doctor that looked after the man was the one who spoke.

“How’s my husband? Is he okay?” the wife sounded blank which made Daehwi hold himself from raising a brow.

“Based on the result of his CT and x-ray, everything is okay. The initial pain he felt was due to shock….” The doctor kept on talking and Daehwi’s head is not really working properly now, all he knows is that, the man is okay, he’s not in danger at all.

“We’ll hold him for a night to get a complete bed rest...” Daehwi’s thankful that everything is fine. Sanggyun called him earlier and told him that they have reviewed the CCTV and the man didn’t hit his head on the ground, his back landed straight on the ground. They had it reviewed as no one can answer that question by the 119 medical team earlier. Though they didn’t find any swelling on his head earlier, they wanted to make sure.

“Are you sure?! We need to get him checked again! What if something happened to him on that bar that’s why he fell? What if it wasn’t just a slip?! What if-“

“We’ll do a complete blood test on him if you want ma’am, to see if there’s anything wrong with it.” Daniel answered her this time. He can clearly see where this is going. He’s not new to this and he’s clearly annoyed that the woman is doing this to Daehwi.

“Good, I need to know that nothing went wrong or else, I am going to sue your bar.” The woman turned and pointed a finger at Daehwi who just gulped hard.

“I was his attending waiter. He just drank four bottles of beer and didn’t order anything else. We open the beer in front of the customer so there’s-“

“I can listen to you speak all lies-“

“Ma’am, please calm down. We are trying to hold in peace and order in the hospital. If you want to do a settlement with them, we can escort you to a private room but please don’t raise your voice in this hallway.” Daniel interrupted as the woman’s voice raised which called attention of passersby and patients.

“No, I won’t reach a settlement unless I know my husband is safe.” The wife crossed her arms on her chest.

“I understand ma’am. Would you want to see him now?” the other doctor asked.

“Please come with me ma’am, I need you to sign some papers at the admitting section, I’ll let a nurse help you out with the admission.” The doctor said as he led the way, not waiting for the woman to respond as she followed behind him. Like Daniel, he has dealt with people like this and he’s just too tired to even hear her rants now.

“Hey, are you okay?” Daniel asked as he held Daehwi’s elbow. He seemed to be in shock.

Daehwi frustratingly groaned as he brushed his fingers through his hair.

“Don’t worry. As long as the patient is clear, she can’t do anything with it. It was cleared to her that you’ll be covering the hospital bill, I have seen a lot of situation like this.” Daniel assured him.

“She doesn’t love him right?” Daehwi’s question caught Daniel off guard.

“Why do you say so?”

“I don’t know, gut feeling?”

“Did you just do some character analysis on her?” Daniel’s question made Daehwi chuckle as they started walking.

“On our conversation, she was focused more on dealing with the money than her husband even if she kept on talking about his well-being.” Daehwi sighed.

“Don’t worry, I have dealt with a lot of relatives like her, like the same situation like this so don’t worry, once the medical records gets revealed, they have no choice but to just swallow their pride and accept the situation.” Daniel gave him an assuring smile.

“Hyung, I’ll just stay at the lobby, I’ll be waiting for my manager, Shindong to come over and do the settlement. He just sent me since he had to settle the club first.” Daehwi said as he noticed that they have reached the end of the hallway.

“You can stay at my office, no one is there.” Daniel offered.

“I don’t want to bother you more. You must be busy for you stay at the hospital late at night.” Daehwi replied and that made Daniel bit his inner lip to stop himself from replying as he realized what Daehwi said. Of course he still knows his schedule. And that’s when he realized that he left Jisung hanging at Dr. Kim Minseok’s office.

“Oh sht!” the curse that escaped from his lips made Daehwi’s brows meet.

“Is there something wrong?”

“I forgot about Jisung hyung! I need to go back to him! Are you sure you’re not staying at my office? You can rest there while waiting for your manager.”

“Yes hyung, I’m sure. I’ll be at the lobby so he can find me immediately. You should go.” Daehwi smiled.

“Just stay at the lobby, I’ll go find you once I talk to Jisung hyung.” And with that, Daniel left running, thinking about the possible situation of Jisung right now, leaving Daehwi in amusement.

 

 

 

 

**_Hyung I’m sorry I can’t wait for you to come. My manager came and he’s meeting the wife now. I need to go, Jihoon sent a cab for me to go home. Thank you for your help and get some rest!_ **

****

Daniel sighed upon seeing the text message. He left him for 20 minutes and now he’s going home. He wanted to just go tell Jisung that Daehwi’s around so he needs to be with him but Jisung encountered some technical difficulties that even if he also want to meet Daehwi, they can’t let their hard work go to waste… so they had to call for technical help and deal with the problem.

 

**_Take care and please message me if you’re home safe. See you next time, Daehwi._ **

****

It took him some time to create a proper message and Jisung actually chuckled upon seeing his expression. The hospital technician came and the problem is slowly being solved and it’s obvious that both doctors can now smile in relief.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

To Daehwi’s delight, everything was settled when Shindong came and no case was filed. The man’s blood test was cleared and the wife had nothing to say. Shindong also told him that he found out that the man and his wife are now separated and the wife has a new family, Daehwi felt bad for the man.

Three days after what happened, the weather is getting colder and it’s one reason why a lot of people doesn’t like January… just like Daehwi.

“What should we do on your birthday?” Jihoon asked as he sat infront of Daehwi. It’s Daehwi’s day off from the convenient store today so they decided to get lazy around until it’s time for him to leave for the bar. Woojin wanted to come but he started attending extra dance classes in his foster parents’ studio so the two are left on their own.

“I’m not planning to do anything. I need to raise money for the miscellaneous fees next semester, I’ll just treat you out with Woojin over lunch or dinner.” Daehwi replied. His birthday fell on January and he’s not really a fan of it because of the cold weather. Back in the center, they celebrate birthdays by month and it’s usually celebrated on the last week of each month so Daehwi gets a lot of greetings from the center’s sponsors as well. After leaving the center, it has been their practice to just eat out during his birthday.

“Let’s go somewhere this time! Woojin and I can contribute!” Jihoon’s voice seemed to mean something which made Daehwi raise a brow.

“You got a plan don’t you?” he asked suspiciously making Jihoon grin.

“Let’s go to Nami Island on your birthday! You’ve been wanting to go Petite France right? Now’s the best chance for us! It wouldn’t really cost us a lot as well.” Jihoon excited replied.

“You’ve had a rough end last year, time to give this additional year on your life a good start.” And Daehwi knew, he can’t say no anymore.

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daniel leaned back at the chair, eyes glued on the door despite his coffee turning cold. He can’t believe he actually sent a message to him and he replied. He texted Daehwi if they can meet after his convenient store shift and the younger agreed a few minutes later.

“Dr. Kang.” Daniel turned to see a hospital colleague whom he immediately recognized.

“Hi Dr. Jang.” He greeted at the older doctor. He’s familiar of course, he’s one of those _position-hungry_ doctors in the hospital.

“Fancy meeting you here. I haven’t seen you around the hospital.” The doctor approached his table. Daniel’s eyes kept on glancing at the door, hoping Daehwi doesn’t arrive yet as he doesn’t want to half-heartedly introduce him to this man.

“I’ve been steadily working in the ER… as you’re busy working on the left wing.” Daniel replied aiming to hit on a spot and he did as he saw a change of expression on him.

“You could have been in the left wing too, if you accepted the offer before... but at least you got your own office right?” Dr. Jang replied as he buried his free hand inside his coat’s pocket.

“I’m fine working on the ER as of now, I want to stay there, I can share the office with anyone else but people already got their own place, if they need a space, the office is wide enough to accommodate another one. I’m not greedy.” Daniel replied, still not breaking the eye contact from the older doctor. He’s older than him but they entered the hospital almost the same time. He’s now working at the left wing where doctors got their own clinics and are rising faster than the others, something that Daniel doesn’t want to experience.

“Your tongue’s becoming more daring I see.”

“It’s not becoming daring but it’s just telling the truth… Dr. Jang.”

 

 

 

Daehwi reached the café panting. He had to walk faster as the weather is really cold and he can’t wait to have a hot coffee run down his throat by now… and maybe meet the person who asked him to come over.

The moment he stepped in front of the entrance door, he saw Daniel’s seated on the spot where they met before, the spot where he told him he was leaving. Before pushing the door, he noticed that he’s talking to someone, a doctor judging from its coat. Daniel’s expression doesn’t seemed good and Daehwi knows it’s not the right time to enter yet. He waited for their conversation to end while he buried his hands inside his pocket. He wore the mittens that Daniel bought for him but his pocket’s warmth and comfort is still different.

He stood by the entrance and waited until he saw Daniel stand up and bowed at the doctor. The doctor left with a smug on his face and passed by him in front of the door. He immediately entered the café as it’s freezing cold, Daniel immediately recognized his presence.

“You’re here!” Daniel smiled as he watched him settle down.

“Yes I am.”

“What do you want?”

“Hot Americano for this cold weather.” Daehwi replied with a smile, hoping to change the mood of the doctor who obviously doesn’t have his smile reach his eyes.

Daniel can’t help but chuckle as he walked towards the counter and ordered for Daehwi. He forgot to ask about the dessert so he just ordered random picks.

When he returned, Daehwi’s already settled and is smiling at him, something that warmed his heart.

“How have you been?” Daehwi asked the moment he sat down.

“Good, the hospital’s been busy but everything’s going well.” Daniel replied. _Not really._ He’s been not himself these days, helping out Dr. Kim Minseok, the ER duties, scrubbing in on operations, dealing with patients, everything’s just juggling in his palms. He doesn’t even how he gets along with it and still manage to be alive.

“You’re lying.” Daehwi’s words made him grip on the handle of the cup he was holding, a small smile formed on his face.

“Why do you say so?”

“The dark circles under your eyes tells me so. I wasn’t able to see you a little less than three weeks but I can say you lost some weight hyung.” Daehwi’s voice has a mixture of worry and concern as he looks at him.

_That’s why you need to comeback._ If only Daniel has the courage to say it.

“Did I?”

“I told you to eat well and take good care of yourself hyung.” Daehwi sounded disappointed with a small pout on his face. Daniel wasn’t able to reply as the waiter came to bring in Daehwi’s coffee and the rest of the order.

“I know, I’m still trying.” Daniel tried to chuckle but only an empty air came out of his mouth, he sighed.

“Please try harder.” Daehwi’s worried. The doctor’s workaholic and he has noticed the weight loss when they met at the hospital the other day but he wasn’t able to process everything until now, especially that he’s seated in front of him. He can still recall Daniel’s expression when he talked to the doctor earlier, he doesn’t want to pry but he thinks that he’s one of those doctors that Daniel despise the most.

Silence enveloped them after what Daehwi said. He drank his hot coffee and Daniel started stirring his coffee that turned cold. No one touched the cake he ordered but the silence seemed comforting.

“Why did you want to meet me hyung?” Daehwi finally spoke.

“I just wanted to see you.”

“You know what? I’ve been waiting for you to call.” And that left Daniel dumbfounded.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Daniel feels happy and light hearted as he made his way to do rounds for Dr. Kim Minseok’s patients. He knew that the coffee _date_ with Daehwi meant a lot. He was surprised when Daehwi said that he was waiting for him to call… and talk about his worries and problems just like what he did before. They spent an hour talking, mostly him talking about his frustrations over stuffs he’s been going through nowadays. Daehwi was just listening, speaking when he thinks he need to. He’s glad that there were only a few people in the coffee shop and there’s no one occupied the tables around them. He also made sure to speak in a low volume to prevent people from hearing their conversation.

He met his residents, Somi and Jinyoung along the way so they can come with him to do the rounds.

“Dr. Kang seemed to be in a good mood today.” Somi commented which just made Daniel chuckle. He’s been with his interns for some time and he must say, they’re really fun to be with. He suddenly don’t want them to do the rotation and just keep them around his wings. Somi and Jinyoung are polar opposites, Somi’s bright while Jinyoung’s a more serious one. He’s actually impressed with how the two can still get along, mostly with Somi’s effort.

“Tell you what, do properly with the rounds today and I’ll treat you two for dinner.” Daniel’s mood is too good that it needs to be shared to others, he has completely forgotten about the time he wasted talking to Dr. Jang who just kept on trash talking people around the hospital earlier.

Even Jinyoung’s expression changed with what Daniel said while Somi squealed in excitement. Who wouldn’t want a free treat right? Daniel also made a mental note to tell Nayoung who is on duty today to join them.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

**_Happy birthday Daehwi! Enjoy your day with your best friends and I’ll see you when you’re free._ **

****

Among the birthday messages that he received, Daniel’s greetings made him smile the most. It didn’t even said a lot other than his greetings but the last line just made him giggle first thing in the morning. Al though he left his side, Daehwi’s aware that the feelings he developed for the doctor didn’t change a bit but for now, he just want to enjoy it thinking that soon enough, he’ll get to realize what should he do to erase the feelings he has for him.

 

Today, they’re leaving to Nami Island to tour around and celebrate his day. He took two days off from work and he even received a bonus from Shindong since it’s his birthday. He received a lot of greetings from the people at the convenient store especially Sohye who asked him to bring her something from Nami Island. His co waiters also messaged him a simple _happy birthday_ and he really appreciates it. His _hospital friends_ also messaged him and Sejeong told him to take a day off so they can celebrate his day after he spend his day with his best friends.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!” Daehwi flinched when the door opened revealing the usual practice of Jihoon and Woojin during his birthday, bringing in a cake and singing happy birthday for him. He already saw it coming and it doesn’t even feel like a surprise but he will always appreciate their effort.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone came through and that someone is me. hehehe. How are you all? I miss updating so I tried to swing it in, I hope you liked it! 
> 
> By the way, I'm working on an onghwi oneshot that I don't know if will ever be posted, at all. hahahaha! There's also a chaptered one but I don't know if it will be posted at all... and I may be brewing something for....... too. This is what I do between breaks in my job. hahaha! I don't know if I am posting this as a teaser or I am sharing my frustrations in writing. 
> 
> So that's it. 'til next time! I will really appreciate your thoughts about this. hehehe. (and I'm looking forward for the next chapter too) 
> 
> Comments, kudos and hits are greatly appreciated. thank you!
> 
> -irememberyou


	12. TWELVE

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

TWELVE

 

A new semester has started and Daehwi got busier. He got shorter hours at the convenient store and the bar. Shorter hours means lesser pay but he has no choice, the moment the semester started, the demands immediately got high. He just hopes that he can get some extra pay soon when people will start to ask him do some of their papers.

Jihoon and Woojin has really become a huge help for him as they promised that as much as possible, they’ll stick with each other on group activities so they wouldn’t really have a hard time. He has also noticed a change between Jihoon and Woojin but he doesn’t want to say anything to them and so he just observes.

It’s been months since he left the doctor’s place and they have also met a couple of times. He celebrated a post birthday celebration with them, all care of Sejeong. He was able to introduce Jihoon and Woojin to them. Sohye also came to the small party. He thanked Sejeong nonstop while the female doctor kept on telling him to stop. Sejeong even asked if she can adopt Daehwi despite him being of legal age which just caused everyone to laugh, drunk Sejeong can really be something.

Daniel’s been contacting him often. There were times when Daniel was drunk, times when he’s happy, times when he just needed someone to talk to and despite being busy, Daehwi still tries to listen to him. He wants to hate himself for not keeping himself away from the doctor to forget about his feelings, the main reason why he left his place… but at the same time, he’s happy that Daniel still comes to him to talk just like what he does when he was still living with him.

 

Today is one lazy day at the university. Due to an emergency meeting called by their college dean, the faculty and staff of their college were all inside the conference room leaving the students with either some random seat work or nothing at all. Daehwi wanted to just leave the school and go to the convenient store, hoping he can cover someone’s shift… just in case he’s needed. He still pays Jihoon for his stay and helps out with the grocery. Of course has his own needs as well so he really needs every possible source of income.

But now, he’s stuck with Jihoon who is mopping for some unknown reason.

“You can talk you know.” Daehwi rested his arms on the table. They’re on one of the corners of the university where tables were arranged in lines. Students can eat, study or just hang out there, provided that they control their noise and clean up the place before they leave. He’s been staring at the mopping Jihoon who has been sighing for the nth time since they got there.

“I know you Lee Daehwi, I know you know.” Jihoon sighed again.

“Exactly, but I never said anything and I will never say anything until you’re the first one to say it to me.” Daehwi replied.

“I like him okay?! It’s been years, I lost count.” Jihoon sighed after saying it. He looked down and started to press his knuckles while a sympathetic smile formed on Daehwi’s lips. Of course he knows, he can’t remember when but he knows. He’ll actually be surprised if the two doesn’t end up together in the future.

“Does he know?”

“No.”

“Jihoon….”

“It’s been years and I never had the courage to tell him, do you think I’ll ever have it?” Jihoon lifted his head to meet Daehwi’s eyes.

“You’ll never know unless you try.”

“I’ve been trying but I can’t.”

“Try again then…”

“Why don’t you try it in your situation?” Jihoon’s words caught Daehwi off guard. A little chuckle came out from his lips.

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I am talking about Lee Daehwi. You used my offer as your escape goat from the doctor since you realized that you had a feelings with him, am I right?” it’s obvious that Jihoon wants to divert the topic and Daehwi has no powers to bring it back to him as he can already feel his cheeks blush.

“Why are you changing the topic?” he tried to compose himself.

“Aren’t we on the same situation?”

“No.” his response made Jihoon raise a brow.

“What do you mean?”

“Woojin, he’s our best friend. We… you have known him for years, you’re on the same age while for me? We just met at the hospital, I met him at the bar, at the convenient store, had to drag him to my house as he was drunk, asked for his help to stay alive… he’s older, successful, someone who wouldn’t be on my level at all.” Daehwi’s spurting words that made Jihoon ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration, of course it’s Lee Daehwi, what would he expect?

“Does it ever occur to you that what if the doctor wouldn’t really care about that? I can see that he cares for you Daehwi, I even think he likes you more than you think he do.” Jihoon’s words were careful and Daehwi just listens to him attentively. He never had a relationship before, he had crushes yes but he never knew how it feels to go beyond that so he doesn’t know how to judge what he feels for the doctor.

“I’ll try to figure out my situation, why don’t you try yours too?” Daehwi knows that if he doesn’t end the conversation here, Jihoon would continue to talk to him about the doctor and he’s not ready for it, not yet.

 

“I actually think that this is the reason why we’re best friends.” And Jihoon can only laugh bitterly.

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi came out of the bar two hours before its closing like the usual. He made sure his bag is secured on his back before bidding goodbye to Moonbok who sent him out. As he started walking, Daehwi stopped on his track when he saw someone extremely familiar on the other side of the road, leaning on his car while looking down.

“Daniel hyung?!” he called and instantly, the male lifted his head and a lazy smile formed on his face.

“Daehwi!” _is he drunk?_ Daehwi immediately crossed the street and approached the doctor. The smell of alcohol welcomed him.

“Oh no you’re drunk!” Daehwi gritted his teeth.

“I just drank a little with Jisung hyung, I’m still fine.” Daniel can talk straight so Daehwi tried to judge, is he just tipsy?

“How did you get here? Where did you drink?” it would be impossible not to see him inside the bar if he drank there.

“Somewhere, a place Jisung hyung knows.” Daniel scratched his nape.

“Why are you here then? It’s late hyung.”

“I wanted to bring you home.” Daniel replied with his lazy smile, Daehwi’s brows met.

“Why?”

“I…” a chuckle escaped from Daniel’s mouth before he started to talk again.

“I realized I didn’t know where Jihoon’s place is.” And he shyly touched his nape. Daehwi tried his best to hold his laughter as he nod.

“Does it matter?”

“Of course!”

“Okay, since you’re here, it’s useless to reject the offer.” Daehwi knows the doctor, he’ll push until he gets what he wants.

“Good! Let’s go.” Daniel turned to face his car but Daehwi doubted.

“You’re going to DUI.” He knows that the doctor has done this a lot of times… but still?

“I’ll be careful, like always, promise.” Daniel raised his right hand to pledge. Daehwi’s still unsure as he walked towards the front seat. Daniel was just looking at him with a smile on his face before riding the car as well.

 

 

 

 

The whole ride was filled with silence as they just listened to the GPS giving instructions. It’s been some time since Daehwi rode Daniel’s car. It still smells like him, everything’s still the same. A smile formed on his face as he can’t help but glance at Daniel’s concentrating face while driving. Daehwi thinks this is the ‘I’ll be careful’ he was saying earlier. He wasn’t speaking at all.

“Hyung.” He called.

“Am I being fast?” Daniel’s question made Daehwi laugh.

“No, you’re being too careful, thank you.” he laughed again, he can see Daniel smile.

“When we arrive there, please tell me the real reason why you came okay?” Daehwi waited for Daniel to reply or even just glance at him but he didn’t speak. A few moments later, he just heard him sigh.

 

 

 

“It’s safe to park your car here.” Daehwi said as he got out of the car, Daniel followed. Jihoon’s place is guarded as well but of course, it’s not as secured as Daniel’s place. He asked him to park his car near the entrance since the only car allowed to park on the lot are the registered one and the only registered cars under Jihoon’s name are the car of his parents.

“Then we walk towards the entrance.” Daehwi said as he started to take a few steps when Daniel grabbed his wrist and the next thing he knows, his face landed on the doctor’s wide chest.

“Hyung-“ he struggled to speak but Daniel didn’t let him go out of his embrace.

“I missed you so much Daehwi, it hurts.” Daehwi’s heart has been beating so fast since he saw him earlier but this time, he can feel butterflies in his stomach as he struggled to hold the older’s waist. He can even feel Daniel’s heartbeat now.

“Hyung…”

“I have tried to hold it back but I can’t… I missed you so much.” Daniel kept on mumbling as he rested his head on Daehwi’s shoulder. The younger is much smaller in frame and in height than him but he found the position comfortable.

“Hyung-“

“I never thought I’ll have you in my arms like this again.” _He’s drunk Daehwi._

“Hyung please…”

“Let me hold you for five more minutes please.” His voice is hoarse and pleading that Daehwi suppress himself from speaking. He slowly loosened up as he let the older hug him freely. So his judgement was wrong, Daniel’s not just tipsy earlier, he’s actually really drunk.

 

Has five minutes passed? They both lost count. Daehwi has his eyes closed as he returned the hug. The last time he hugged the doctor was during his birthday but it was because he greeted him. This time he wants to believe that it’s because he’s drunk but Daniel’s voice kept on echoing in his head _‘I missed you so much’_ is it true? Because he does.

Daehwi can feel the emptiness when Daniel started to move and break the hug, his hands still holding his shoulder.

“Hyung.” Daehwi called him again.

“Daniel hyung.” And again. Daniel’s mind is in chaos. He knows he’s drunk and it’s alcohol helping him do these things but that doesn’t mean he’s not aware of what he’s doing. All has been tough days for him and having Jisung drink with him earlier didn’t help at all. Now look at him doing these things to Daehwi?

“Has five minutes passed?” Daniel unconsciously asked, Daehwi just hummed making him sigh as he let go of the hug.

“Do you want to go up?” Daehwi asked, he doesn’t even know how Jihoon will react if he finds the doctor on his living room but he doesn’t have the heart to part ways from him yet. Daniel just shook his head.

“I should escort you to the entrance now.” Daniel looked down, unable to look up because of what he did.

“I can stay longer.” Daehwi knows that he’s risking himself for liking the doctor but the hug made him a whole lot of emotions that perhaps… this is not one sided at all?

“Are you sure?” Daniel looked down.

“Yes hyung. I think I can stay with you until you sober up.” Daehwi replied, he knows it’ll be impossible to be in his sane mind on his class the next morning but he wants to stay with him longer so… a little sacrifice it is.

“Come let’s go to a 24/7 mart inside the building, it’s not as fancy as the one in yours though.” Daehwi said as he pulled Daniel’s wrist so they can start walking. Daniel just looked down and followed him.

They entered a 24/7 mart and since it’s almost dawn, there’s not even a customer there, just the employees trying to survive the graveyard shift.

“Coffee?” Daehwi offered. Daniel just nod. He went to buy a disposable cup and started making the coffee. He then placed it in front of Daniel and told him that it’s still hot.

Daehwi crossed his arms on the table as he looked at him. The more that he studies the doctor, the more that he realized how much he missed him… and he likes him.

“I’m sorry for dragging you out like this, I know you still have class tomorrow.” Daniel apologized.

“No it’s okay, it’s not a major class anyways.” Lie, it’s a film history class and it’s one of the most boring class ever and he fears to flunk the class as he feels like sleeping each meeting.

“How’s school?” Daniel asked. He doesn’t even know why he’s asking this but he just wants to hear Daehwi share his stories this time. Daehwi pouted a little before he started talking about it. It’s a busy semester and film students are on zombie mode. He talks about his professors and his assignments, his classmates and a whole lot more. He also accidentally shared how he received an assignment from a lower year that made Daniel’s brow crease.

“You already got a lot of things under you, why are you even doing that?”

“Extra income.” He shyly replied. He rarely does it now but sometimes it still helps him financially.

“Daehwi…” Daniel bit his inner lip, trying to think of the right words to say. He wants to tell him how he can help him out and just be with him and all those things but of course, it’s impossible for him to say those things.

“Just tell me if you need anything okay? You know I’m always willing to help you… or Sejeong too!” Daniel sighed. He’s too bad at this. Jisung’s going to beat him up if he sees him now.

“I will hyung.” Daehwi just smiled, can he actually do it?

They stayed their longer, no one noticed its 6am until customers started coming in to buy some instant breakfast. Daehwi realized his class starts in three hours. He’s doomed.

“Oh my God Daehwi I’m sorry or keeping you up!” Daniel rattled upon realizing it as well. They were engrossed in their conversation that both didn’t notice the time.

“Oh… I’m… well…” Daehwi’s sure he’s skipping the class now. He can’t sacrifice by sleeping in the class. His next class is at 1pm, he thinks he can go to that one.

“You should go up and sleep… I’m sorry… I’m… I should have…” Daniel panicked making Daehwi chuckle and held his wrist.

“Hyung calm down, I’m not going to flunk for missing a class in case I do today.” Daehwi assured him. He’s sleepy in this class but he hasn’t missed it yet… he thinks?

“But still, you should go up and rest now. I took your resting time, I’m sorry.” Daniel apologized as they both stood up.

“You should have rested too. Come with me?” Daehwi offered and Daniel nod.

They both walked out the mart and stopped in front of the elevator.

“I’m good to go hyung, you should go too.” Daehwi said as he turned to face him.

“Again, I’m sorry for-“

“Shhh hyung, it’s okay. It’s my choice too.” Daehwi hushed him with a smile. Daniel just nod then.

“Drive safe and text me when you arrive home okay? I really had a good time hyung.” Daehwi smiled at him, a big smile that almost melted Daniel’s heart. He wishes to pull him into a hug again but he feels like he have reached his quota for today so he controlled himself.

“I will. Go up now.” Daniel pressed the up button for him. They silently waited for the elevator to open.

“Bye hyung. I’ll see you next time.” Daehwi entered the elevator with a smile.

“And please, don’t take too long.” Daehwi thinks he’s being bold but somehow, what happened tonight gave him some courage that maybe, really… it’s not one sided.

“I promise. Bye Daehwi!” Daniel waved and waited for the elevator to close down before he turned to leave. No, he didn’t confess, he didn’t even say anything close to ‘I like you’ nor ‘I love you’ but at least, eh was able to spend time with him so he thinks… that’s an improvement for him.

 

 

 

 

 

The moment Daehwi entered the unit, a frowning Jihoon who is fresh from shower has his hands on his waist while glaring at him.

“What do you think the time is right now, Mr. Lee Daehwi?” Jihoon asked in a cold tone but Daehwi’s smile remains unbothered.

“You’re not my mom Jihoon, can’t remember having one so please, don’t nag.” Daehwi walked pass him but Jihoon followed him behind.

“Where were you?!! I was texting you, I was calling you!” Jihoon’s his mom, he can’t deny that.

“My phone’s on silent, it’s in my bag.” Daehwi replied as he went to the fridge and got his own water tumbler.

“Where were you?”

“Downstairs, at the mart.” At least he’s being honest right?

“Mart?! What were you doing there? it’s past 6am! Did you even sleep?”

“Nope, I was up all night. I was with Daniel hyung.” Daehwi suppressed a little giggle but it didn’t pass Jihoon’s judging glare.

“Daniel hyung?! The doctor?!”

“Do I even know another Daniel?” Daehwi pointed out and Jihoon just shook his head as he followed him towards his room.

“Am I missing a detail here??? Am I?” Jihoon followed his figure as he got his towel, ready to wash up.

“No you didn’t. He went to the bar and fetched me… I somehow… asked him to come with me to the mart and then we talked… and missed to check the time.” He wants to keep the hugging part for his own this time. He can see Jihoon cross his arms on his chest.

“You fetched you and you stayed up late. That’s a literal definition of dating Daehwi.”

“No we’re not dating Jihoon, you know that.”

“But you’re not mopping?” Jihoon pointed out and that made Daehwi pause from preparing to bath and turned to face him.

“What do you mean?”

“After meeting him, you usually go on a ‘oh why can’t I stop liking him’ mode… but now???” Jihoon raised a brow, waiting for his thoughts to be answered.

Daehwi bit his lower lip before smiling, he can never hide anything from him anyway.

“Well…let’s just say that somehow… I think… it’s not one sided at all.”

 

 

 

 

 

When ER is busy, it’s a hell day for them, it always will. Daniel’s been lacking of sleep these days because of longer hours he’s spending in the hospital. If there’s one thing that keeps him going, it would have to be something that involves a third year film student in SKKU.

“Dr. Kang, you’ve been in a good mood recently.” Somi, the ever dynamic resident can’t help but mention making Daniel raise a brow while reading the patient’s records.

“You think so, Dr. Jeon?” Daniel asked making Somi sheepishly grin.

“Well… I just noticed that…” she can’t finish her sentence as Jinyoung kept on nudging her side. Daniel saw it as he ended up chuckling.

“The two of you are so funny. Dr. Jeon please check on the patient at ward 15, I gave instruction to the nurse please coordinate. Dr. Bae please organize this records, I need it ASAP.” Daniel handed Jinyoung the records and left, leaving his too residents dumbfounded.

“You should have just shut up!” Jinyoung snapped at Somi who just made face. Nayoung who is inside the nurse’s station can’t help but laugh.

“Daniel’s been in the mood these days, let him be. ER has been busy and the higher ups are giving him a lot of pressure as well.” Nayoung shared at the two residents.

“So if I were you, let’s just enjoy Daniel smiling brightly like this, like everything is normal in this hospital even if it’s not.” Nayoung continued talking. The hospital may look normal as it is but the political dispute in powers is something that affects the medical practitioners as well.

“Yes nurse Im.” The two replied and diligently carried on the task given by Dr. Kang.

 

“We all know the reason why Daniel’s like that.” Nayoung flinched upon hearing the voice and a bed haired Dr. Yoon came out of the supplies closet.

“What the- Dr. Yoon??!!” how did he even ended up inside the supply closet?!

“I was too tired earlier, I can’t open my eyes so supply closet is the best place, like resident years.” Jisung replied as he tried fixing his hair. Nayoung’s about to continue to reprimand him but he spoke first.

“But it’s not important, the important thing is, the reason behind Daniel’s happiness.”

“He hasn’t confessed yet.” Nayoung replied.

“I know, I don’t even know how to beat it out of him, he’s too…”

“Coward?” Nayoung chuckled at her own response.

“He’s afraid to confess… if only we can do something about it.”

“We’re not high school to help him hook up Dr. Yoon.” Nayoung pointed out.

“I know! But the mutual pinning is frustrating me and my non-existent love life!” Jisung raised his hands in defeat. Nayoung can only shake her head, it’s true, Daniel is so frustrating like, he could have confessed and get Daehwi back to his place but he’s way too much of an over thinker that a lot of thoughts hinders him to do so.

“If it isn’t obvious, the kid likes him too.”

“Why do you love calling Daehwi a kid?”

“I just want to, when Daniel’s not around, Daehwi’s a kid, a cute kid.” Jisung smirked earning an eye roll from Nayoung.

“Go and do your rounds, I don’t want to see you inside our supply closet or I’m throwing you out of the ER.” Nayoung warned, Jisung just dragged himself out of the nurse’s station. Nayoung may be soft spoken but she can always be scary.

 

 

Since he doesn’t need to do his rounds, he dragged his feet to Daniel’s office. He took a peek at the glass window entering and his eyes aren’t even playing with him right now, Daniel looks like a giggly teenager using his phone.

_I swear to you Daniel, if you don’t get Daehwi soon, you’ll get a great beating from me._

Instead of going according to plan of getting a nap at Daniel’s office, he decided to just leave as he knows, Daniel is busy and he doesn’t need to know why.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Jihoon and Woojin exchanged looks as they watch Daehwi get lost in using his phone. They’re now inside the library but instead of working on a film analysis, Daehwi hasn’t let go of his phone ever since it vibrated earlier.

“You do know we’re here for the analysis right?” Jihoon finally spoke. It got Daehwi’s attention.

“I know, I’m almost done, I’ll check it later.” Daehwi replied and that just made Jihoon raise a brow.

“You’re weird.”

“Am not.”

“Are you exchanging messages with Dr. Kang?” Woojin’s question made both Jihoon and Daehwi look at him, a visible pink blush on Daehwi’s face.

“Thinking about it, since you stayed up with him that one specific night, you haven’t been away of your phone.” Jihoon pointed out.

“Lower down your voice!” Woojin hissed and that made Jihoon apologize upon realizing the volume of his voice. Daehwi suddenly wants to evacuate. The floor in-charge of the library is obviously eyeing them, first warning. They only get first and last warning then one either go out peacefully or complain and be banned for the whole month.

“Answer me.” Jihoon whispered.

“Answer what?”

“Are you keeping something from us? Lee Daehwi?”

“I told you right?” Daehwi’s reply is vague but of course Jihoon knows it, Woojin too. His iconic ‘this may not be one sided’ became the topic of their conversation every time they have a chance to bring it up.

“So? Are you going to confess?” Woojin asked this time. It made Daehwi put down his phone and crossed his arms on the table.

“Will you support me?”

“OH MY GOD!”

“MR. PARK JIHOON THIS YOUR LAST WARNING! You may peacefully exit the library or be banned for the next month.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Jihoon got kicked out of the library....
> 
> or should I say...
> 
> someone is confessing!!!!!!!!!!!! Hmmmm~
> 
> I was battling on which one to update first, the onghwi or this one but I finished this chapter first so here's an update for UIA~ So excited for future chapters! hehehe. I'm still in semi-hiatus because of work. I don't know if it's right to talk about this here but I just want to share that I got a new job and this time it's something that is far from what I usually do but I found the thrill in it. I doubted myself at first but now I found myself enjoying and I'm starting to discover new things about myself too! (But it's so busy that I can rarely open my own laptop buuuuut I am trying, promise <3) Okay enough of my sharing. hehehe. Thanks for reading that if you did!
> 
> How was it? Why must Daniel always find himself with Daehwi when he's drunk? I need an explanation from myself too! hahaha!
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me!
> 
> Comments, hits and kudos are greatly appreciated! 
> 
> -irememberyou


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really miss you guys! I miss NielHwi! I miss OngHwi!

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

 

THIRTEEN

 

Through the years of his existence, this is the first time that Daehwi ever liked someone. It feels surreal, it feels new but he likes it. That night when he stayed up together with Dr. Kang may have been an eye opener to him that maybe, it’s not really a one sided thing. The thought of confessing to the doctor has been bugging him. Can he do it? What will the doctor say? Will he be accept him? Will he be rejected? Sometimes, he feels like if only Jihoon and Woojin finally find some balls and confess to each other, he wouldn’t have a hard time because he can have someone as his ‘inspiration’ on what he is planning to do.

Confessing to Daniel has never left his mind. He really wants to do it, maybe it’s the thrill of liking and falling for someone is making him a lot of things that he finds himself smiling alone most of the time. He also likes the time when the he and the doctor get to exchange short messages towards each other. Daniel would sometimes drop by the bar for a few drinks and then bring him home too. He always get a lot of questions from Moonbok and Sanggyun the next night but he just shrug them off. Daniel also goes to the convenient store and would usually have a short conversation with him and Sohye if it’s not a busy time. Each time he sees the doctor, he can’t help but think about how he’ll confess. He must do it.

At first it was just a passing thought but after all these time, he’s determined to do it. How? He doesn’t know yet. He’s not someone who has an extra budget for something extravagant, especially that he is trying to confess to an accomplished doctor, someone whose status is very far from him. Their difference is still one of the factor that makes him feel unworthy but at times when he thinks that way, he tries to recall how special Daniel is trying to treat him and suddenly, he feels better. He kept on remembering his presence in Daniel’s warm embrace, as embarrassing as it may sound, he really wants to be in his embrace again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**_Sejeong noona I’m around the area. Are you free?_ **

****

His shift from the convenient store ended and he still have some time before eating dinner and head off to the bar so he found his way towards the hospital. He knows that Sejeong is in today, Sejeong basically became his sister from another mother. Sejeong really loves looking after him, she would usually message him, asking if how he is and if he needs anything. It’s no wonder that Sejeong dotes on him.

 

**_Did you come over to see me or Daniel? Keke._ **

****

He chuckled upon seeing Sejeong’s reply.

 

**_I only came for noona. Are you free?_ **

****

He patiently waited for her reply as he stood beside the lamp post and watched the people pass by. It’s quite a busy day today so there are a lot of people in the street, weekdays has always been like this.

 

**_Ooooohhhhh--- I’m free in five minutes. Come meet me at hospital garden. Daniel’s out with Dr. Kim Minseok so he wouldn’t know you’re here. I have you for myself~_ **

****

He laughed again. Sejeong may be years older than him but she can really act like a teenager and a lot younger than him. Somehow, he’s really glad he knew her. As for Daniel, he knows that he’s not in the hospital, he saw his message earlier that he’s going to Incheon with Dr. Kim Minseok.

 

**_I’ll be there noona!_ **

****

****

 

 

 

 

“So what is the great Lee Daehwi doing around the area?” he immediately stood up upon seeing Sejeong who enthusiastically greeted him. He handed him the coffee he bought from the vendo. Sejeong received it well and they both sat down.

“I came to see you.”

“It’s not like I’ll buy that, Lee Daehwi.” Sejeong chuckled making Daehwi blush.

“But I really did came to see you. I know he’s not in the hospital.” Daehwi insisted as Sejeong raised a brow before she drank her coffee.

“Okay, if you insist.” She sing song.

“What is it then? Do you need anything?” Sejeong asked. Her question made Daehwi sigh as he looked down to his coffee. He was rehearsing what he wanted to say earlier but now that Sejeong asked, he suddenly don’t know what to say. He managed to look up when he felt her touch his shoulder.

“There’s something bothering you?” she sounds serious this time from being all tease earlier, a pout formed on his lips.

“You came for me but this is still about Daniel, am I right?” Sejeong figured making Daehwi sigh again.

“So what happened?”

“I really like him noona.” Daehwi looked down upon saying it but he’s still unable to hide his blush. It made Sejeong giggle.

“You finally realized it? After all these time?” Sejeong’s question made him blush more.

“Awww my baby is in love.” Sejeong caressed his back as she looks at him with a teasing look. It made Daehwi feel shier.

“Does he know?” she asked, Daehwi shrugged.

“I’mplanningtoconfesstohim.” Daehwi said it so fast that it made Sejeong’s brows crease. Daehwi looked down again, unable to meet her eyes while Sejeong’s trying to figure out what he said until a small shriek came out from her, earning the attention of some of the people in the garden. Both of them immediately apologized but Sejeong’s attention is more on what Daehwi said.

“Say it again.” She instructed but Daehwi just shrugged.

“You’re planning to confess to him?” her voice sounds so small while she tried to supress a giggle but obviously failing. Daehwi just nod, embarrassed of what he said. He didn’t really know what to do and he thinks that Sejeong’s the best person to ask. Jisung must be busy, Jaehwan might end up teasing him so much and Nayoung’s too quiet and serious, Daehwi’s shy to approach her sometimes.

“Do it! Do it! I support you! Do it!” Sejeong’s grin is so wide. She’s so happy that finally, someone got the courage to do it. She can’t wait to tease Daniel for failing to do it first but she can’t help but feel so happy with the thought of the two being together. She knows about how Daniel feels for the younger and hearing these words come straight from Daehwi’s lips, she’s just so happy.

“But I don’t know what to do.” Daehwi frustratingly sighed as his shoulders dropped. He’s thankful that Sejeong is supportive of him but he really have no idea on what to do.

“What do you mean you don’t know what to do? You just tell him Daehwi, that’s the best thing to do.” Sejeong’s confused by his reply.

“I’m younger than him, I’m still a student, these things are bugging me sometimes but I really like him that I always end up forgetting about it.” Daehwi confessed. Sejeong’s silenced by what he said as she tries tot hink of what to say as she moved closer to him and placed her arm around her shoulder.

“That’s right, forget about it because it doesn’t matter okay? What is more important is the fact that you like him and who knows… he may like you do.” Sejeong and her sloppy tongue. She wasn’t intending to say that at all but she ended up grinning at him.

“Thank you noona… but I still don’t know what to do.”

“What do you actually mean?”

Daehwi sighed.

“I don’t know what to do when I confess. I’m not somehow who lives with money, I can’t even afford to bring him to an expensive restaurant for a candlelight dinner or something to make it special. It is frustrating me, I don’t know what to do. I was hoping to ask if you have any idea.” he weaved a deal sigh as he drank his coffee, making a face as it turned cold now.

Upon realizing what Daehwi meant, she ticked her tongue as she caressed his shoulder again.

“Listen here Daehwi.” She moved back of the bench to face him. Daehwi did the same as they both placed their cold coffee between them.

“You don’t need any candlelight dinner to confess. You can just do anything and eat tteokbokki at the side of the road and tell him you like him, Daniel will never complain as long as he’s with you.” Sejeong knows Daniel, he knows that he’ll be willing to kill a bug if it bothers Daehwi, not that he’ll do it with bare hands but with his bug swatter. She knows that Daniel is willing to do that extent for Daehwi.

“What should I do then?”

“That I cannot answer Daehwi. You think of ways that can be easy or you and something that wouldn’t require you to spend a lot because Daniel surely wouldn’t want to have you spend a lot for him.” Sejeong replied. If only Daehwi knows… well he’ll really know on the day of the confession but she can’t help but think if Daehwi knows about who much Daniel likes him, he wouldn’t even bother to think about this now.

“You think so?”

“Perfectly think so. I know Daniel, he may be rich by nature but he’s way too humble, he wouldn’t want to see you spend so much effort on him.”  _because he will do it for you._ Sejeong can’t help but think that way. She can’t wait for the day they both announce it to them and she can proudly tell Jisung, Jaehwan and Nayoung that she  _helped out_ in supporting Daehwi with his confession.

“Don’t think too much about it Daehwi, you’ll figure out on how to tell him soon. Simple and sincere is more like Daehwi. I support you on that.”

Daehwi thinks that Sejeong is right. He’s surely going to go broke if he even think of making something like formal and sophisticated confession to the doctor. Right now, all he has is a few bucks, himself and his feelings towards him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daniel’s pumped up today. First it’s his day off although he needs to pass by the hospital to check on a patient and then he’ll meet Daehwi. He was already planning to ask him out for a movie he heard from the nurses and thought that it would be perfect to watch it with him. He’s also looking forward to hear a film student’s side comments over the movie. He was so surprised when Daehwi messaged him asking to go out on his day off. He asked if what are they going to do and Daehwi said that he just needs some company for a project. Being Daehwi’s driver for the day? He’s up for it.

“You haven’t stopped smiling, it’s creepy.” Nayoung commented as she raised a brow at Daniel. She can perfectly see everything from the nurse’s station, even Daniel’s blinding smile meters away from her earlier.

“It’s my day off.” Daniel replied with a grin.

“You’re creepy Dr. Kang, stop it.” Nayoung threw him a glare as Daniel just rolled his eyes.

“You’re the grumpy one.”

“A 24 hour duty? Ask Jaehwan why I ended up in this state.” Nayoung flipped through the records as Daniel deadpanned. She must have covered Jaehwan’s shift. Jaehwan’s going on some love problems right now and they don’t really want to know what is happening until he talks so it explains why Nayoung took over his shift.

“He’ll come around.” Daniel managed to say.

“That’s why I don’t get the point of falling in love and having your work be affected.” Nayoung grunted as she stood up. Daniel didn’t know what to say as he flipped on his patient’s records.

“I mean…” Nayoung came back and then stood up again, took her tumbler from the side and sat down again. Daniel’s eyes just followed her.

“I know the ‘magic’ of falling in love can change a person positively but the negative effect is not good at all, Jaehwan’s a good example.” Nayoung blew out some air as she glanced at the clock.

“At least I can see you’re happily inlove.” She pouted as she looked up to Daniel who hasn’t said anything yet.

“And don’t bother denying because you’re a bad liar.”

“I never said I’m denying.”

“Then damn confess already.” Nayoung stood up as she saw a figure approaching the nurse’s station, her shift’s done with the arrival of her colleague.

Daniel’s silenced by what Nayoung said.  _Confess already._  He want to do that but he’s not sure, he doesn’t have a courage yet. It already took him enough to hug him that one night, he needs to build up the courage again. Jisung asked him if he needs to drink with him again so he can do the next step but he refused to. If the day comes that he’ll tell him, he wants to surely be sober.

“It will come.” He managed to reply. Nayoung just looked at him, raised a brow and shook her head.

“Whatever you say Kang Daniel.”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi waved at him when he pulled a stop at a public plaza. Daehwi stood up when he got out of the car.

“Hello there PD Lee.” Daniel said with his wide smile, eying the camera’s strap around his neck.

“Nice to see you again, hyung.” Daehwi beamed at him.

“What are you going to do today?” Daniel asked.

“Nothing much, I just need to take photos and videos here and there and then make it a montage. I’m sorry if it will be boring, I just figured that it may be a good way for you to unwind.” Daehwi shyly explained making Daniel smile wider, his eyes completely smiling as well.

“You considered me when you planned this?”

“I did, I mean-“

“I’m touched.” Daniel dramatically held his chest, earning a soft slap on his arm.

“Let’s go then, I’m looking forward to the itinerary.” Daniel batted his brows. Daehwi can only beam as he checked the time on his phone.

“I’m hungry, we should get some snacks first.” And before Daniel can reply, Daehwi pulled his wrist towards the kiosks located inside the public plaza. Daniel can’t remember if when was the last time he visited a place like this but he can’t help but smile at the surroundings. The weather is great, the ambiance is lovely, there are kids playing around and there’s just a good amount of people around the area. He doesn’t know much about what Daehwi needs to do but he thinks that it is a right place to take videos and photographs.

They bought some snacks on several kiosks and Daehwi volunteered to pay. He wanted to protest but he knows that Daehwi will insist so he just agreed. They found an empty table and started eating. Daniel can’t help but smile seeing Daehwi take videos around. He also kept on saying “ _don’t mind me and just eat”_  and so he did.

After eating, they started walking around, Daniel just continued walking while Daehwi would sometimes walk ahead or walk behind him, still busy with his camera. He didn’t really thought that they’ll spend the day like this but he still likes the fact that Daehwi invited him out thinking that it will be a good thing for him to unwind. He’s actually liking it.

“We should go somewhere now.” Daehwi said as they both stopped walking.

“Where?”

“I’ll put it in the GPS.” Daehwi giggled that obviously made Daniel catch his breath. He rubbed his nape and just nod, leading the way towards his car.

 

The car ride is filled with Daehwi’s stories about their recent production and how he is excited of it. He’ll also occasionally take videos. Daniel can’t help but smile each time Daehwi laugh and giggle in between his stories, he’s too cute for his heart. Daniel also shared stories about his week, starting with Jaehwan’s sudden love problems. Daehwi said he’ll message him later to ask if how is he. He also told him anecdotes about the hospital and its politics but made sure to filter the stories and not to mention about how some doctors are going on his nerves already. He wanted to keep mum about it but Daehwi asked about Dr. Kim Minseok so he had no choice but to share those stories.

“Why did you want to come to this place?” Daniel asked after they pulled off the parking lot, Daehwi’s busy with his phone.

“Hmm?” Daehwi finally acknowledged him so he repeated his question.

“Ah, one requirement for the montage was to take videos of things you don’t usually do so I decided on this.” Daehwi replied as he opened the door. Daniel took a deep breath first before he got out of the car as well. When was the last time he came to an amusement park?

“You don’t usually come over this place?” Daniel asked as he followed him.

“No, too busy with work and it’s expensive.” Daehwi replied. They’re not at Lotte World but this place is really nice.

“I wanted to try Lotte World but I figured that instead of spending bucks on the entrance, we can come over to a place like this and spend it on food and other stuffs instead.” Daehwi looked behind him to face Daniel.  _If you told me, we could have come over Lotte World if you want to._

“I’ll pay.” Daehwi announced when they arrived at the entrance. He didn’t wait for Daniel to take out some bills as he handed an exact amount.

“But Daehwi-“

“I asked you to join me so I got this okay?” Daehwi smiled as he personally wore the strap on Daniel’s wrist and handed his strap to Daniel and then raised his hand. Daniel immediately placed the paper strap on Daehwi’s small wrist.

“Woojin and Jihoon comes over this place often and they said that this is a nice place so I chose this, I hope you’ll like it here.” Daehwi said the moment they entered.  _I’ll like it anywhere with you._ He wanted to say it but he bit his tongue and smiled instead.

“It’s a nice place, I can’t remember when was the last time I came to an amusement park.” Daniel honestly said instead.

“Is my age even fit in this place?” Daniel shyly asked. Again, he’s not that old but it’s odd to walk around seeing a lot of teenagers in their high school uniforms while walking hand in hand with their lovers. It made Daniel glance at Daehwi’s dangling hand while his other hand is holding his phone. He suddenly wanted to grab his hand and hold it but he ended up gripping his knuckles.

“You’re talking as if you’re too old! Of course you can! Anyone can come over the amusement park, there’s no age requirement in having fun you know!” Daehwi replied in a matter of fact tone as he kept his phone and started to turn on his camera.

“You’re just feeling old because you’re too busy and working hard, you should have fun too!” Daehwi said.

“You’re young but you’re too busy and working hard too! You should have fun like this too!” Daniel replied and that made Daehwi’s jaw drop, obviously not expecting him to say that. Daniel ended up laughing seeing Daehwi’s reaction, earning a slap on his arm.

“You know what? Let’s just go. We don’t have the whole afternoon.”

When you think that this isn’t the most cliché thing they can do, Daehwi pulled Daniel in shop with headbands, phone cases and other amusement park paraphernalia. Daniel wanted to ran away when he saw Daehwi choose over the headbands. If this was years ago, he’ll be fine wearing them but right now, imagine if his patients see him here while wearing the animal headband?

But in the end, they both got a cat ears headband and Daniel can’t help but coo over how cute Daehwi looks while wearing it.

They rode two simple rides first and they both agreed not to go in the hunted house. It has always been Daniel’s weakness and Daehwi hates it so they just passed by it why hearing people’s scream from the inside. Daniel said he was hungry so they bought some corndogs and Daniel made sure to have the bills in his hand and immediately handed it before Daehwi can get his wallet. Daehwi pouted in protest but he had no choice. Daniel made sure to poke his lips with the corndog before handing it to him.

They rode the teacups and Daniel can’t help but stare at Daehwi as he looks so happy. They ate ice cream after that.

“Amusement park is not complete without a photo booth picture hyung.” Daehwi said as he glanced at the photobooth, there’s only one person lining up.

“But-“

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Daehwi didn’t even think twice in pulling him by the wrist to line up. Daniel wanted to think of his life decision over agreeing to wear an animal headband and now a photo booth. He feels like he’s experiencing what he once saw on films he was able to watch back then.

“We’re next!” Daehwi excitedly giggled and Daniel knows he got no choice.

The moment they entered the photo booth, Daniel felt like he’s at a foreign place while looking around the tiny booth. Times like this when he realizes the difference between him and Daehwi.

“What filter should we get?” Daehwi asked and he doesn’t even know what to answer. He looked over his shoulder as he’s too busy scanning on the filters.

 

 

“Hyung you’re no fun! Act silly like you usually are!” Daehwi pouted the moment their photo showed up on the screen. Was he that conscious? He glanced on the pictures and… he was just… looking at Daehwi the whole time.

“Should we take one again?” Daniel asked.

“Yes.” Daehwi took the pen to delete the first set of pictures when Daniel grabbed it from him. The next thing he knew, Daniel printed them.

“Why???!!”

“It’s still worth the money.” Daniel replied as he grabbed the freshly printed pictures and smiled. Daehwi just looked at him as he smiles.

“Okay let’s take one again.” And this time, Daniel freed himself and started making faces and pouty faces like what Daehwi does. The pictures came out really nice and Daehwi said he’s keeping it.

 

“Should we try Vikings or Ferris wheel?” Daehwi asked as they stopped between the two rides. The line is not too long for both. Daniel thinks that Vikings is more fun than Ferris Wheel but he knows that they’ll end up riding both so he said Vikings.

“We should have not eaten before riding this.” Daehwi’s obviously regretting his question when they’re almost at the entrance. Daniel laughed and unconsciously held his wrist.

“No turning back now. Let’s ride the Ferris wheel after.” Daniel said and he never let go of his wrist.

 

 

 

“I…am never riding that again.” Daehwi held his chest as he breathed hard making Daniel laugh between coughing for air. He was scared too, they screamed so loud with their hands up on the air with him still holding Daehwi’s wrist the whole time.

“I’ll go to the toilet first.” Daehwi finally said after he recovered.

“Are you going to vomit? Want me to buy some medicine?” Daniel sounded so worried that it made Daehwi chuckle.

“No hyung of course not! I just want to use the toilet.” Daehwi replied.

 

 

 

 

While lining up for the Ferris wheel, Daniel can’t help but look up to see how the sun is finally setting and soon enough, it’ll be night time and they need to part again. He really like everything they did today. It didn’t even feel like they were out for Daehwi to film and make a montage, it felt like it was  _date._ Daniel can feel his cheeks heat up with the thought.

“Hyung, let’s go?” he was brought back to reality when Daehwi called him, the door is opened and it’s their turn to ride.

“Ah yeah.”

 

 

They’re both silent inside the Ferris wheel, there’s nothing much happening and Daehwi’s busy talking videos and his phone. Daniel’s eyes are looking out too. Korea’s nightscape has always been one of the most breathtaking thing to see.

“Hyung.”

“Hmm?” he turned to face Daehwi only to see his camera pointing at him, he immediately covered his face, shy.

“Yah Lee Daehwi!” and Daehwi started to giggle.

“Okay I turned it off.” Daehwi announced and Daniel had to peek to make sure.

“What was that for?”

“I realized that I haven’t take a photo of you yet.”

“You could have told me you wanted to take a selca instead.” Daniel replied, flustered.

“Then let’s take a selca hyung.” Daehwi took out his phone and they ended up taking a lot of selcas on both of their phones. Laughing while browsing on the pictures, completely forgetting about the Ferris wheel until they realized that they stopped and their door soon opened, indicating the end of the ride.

 

The Ferris wheel was their last stop. Daehwi said he’s hungry so Daniel thought of a place but Daehwi said there is a nearby pork skewers house where they can go so they ended up driving there.

 

Daehwi’s been busy on his phone the whole ride and the even while waiting for their order.

“What’s with you and your phone?” Daniel can’t help but ask and Daehwi just looked up and sweetly smile before going back to his phone. Daniel knew that he’s defeated by it.

“Did you have fun today?” Daehwi asked after she satisfyingly smiled and locked his phone. He failed to see Daniel’s pout earlier but now he managed to get a glimpse of it before he smiled making him want to pinch the doctor’s cheeks. Today, he didn’t really feel like he was out with the doctor, he felt like he was on a  _date_ with his  _future_ boyfriend. A tint of pink flushed on cheeks as he thought of that.

“I did! I never thought you’ll bring me out for this! I hope you got everything you needed for your assignment though.” Daniel replied.

“I think I did, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you had fun!” Daehwi beamed. The thought of doing it again with Daniel doesn’t leave his mind.

Soon enough they started eating and randomly talked about their day. Daehwi can’t help but mention the old couple they saw earlier and said that they were cute. Daniel agreed and talked about the amount of high school students around the amusement park as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I had so much fun today Daehwi, I can’t even express how thankful I am.” Daniel turned to face him. They have pulled over the lot where he parked before. They have arrived in Jihoon’s apartment building and Daniel’s glad that Daehwi actually took a day off today too so he doesn’t have to go to the bar tonight.

“I am really happy that you did hyung, it’s what matters the most.” Daehwi smiled at him.

“We should do it again.” He sincerely said. There are a few times he felt this young and free ever since he started to become a medical practitioner. Today, for once, he felt like all he did was laugh and have fun together with the very special person in his life right now.

“I promise that we will.” Daehwi replied with a beam before reaching over Daniel’s cheek. It caught the doctor of guard but he didn’t back off and just stared on Daehwi’s eyes. He never expected for him to initiate this kind of act but he likes it, his heart is beating so fast too.

“I’m so happy to see you smile the whole day hyung.” Daehwi said before removing his hand only to be caught by Daniel’s hand again. Daniel then pulled him into his embrace despite the car’s break between them.

_I like you._ Those words got caught in Daniel’s throat as he tightened the hug. After having enough of the hug, Daniel broke it with a smile only to see Daehwi smiling wide as well.

“I’ll send you the montage when it’s done. I want you to watch it too.” Daehwi said.

“I’ll wait for it!”

“You should.” Daehwi giggled.

 

 

 

 

 

As Daniel turned on the next block and is now on his way home, his phone rang with a message from Daehwi. He parked at the side to read it only to see an mp4 file.

“Is he done?” he managed to ask himself before removing the phone from the car handle and played it.

Daniel gulped.

The video started with clips from the public plaza, then he saw his own car approaching. Then it cut to scenes from the public plaza and then he saw his back, he’s walking.

Daniel licked his lips that turned dry over the video, his heart is beating fast right now.

The video then went on with the video of the kiosks, and then there’s him, waiting for the food to be cooked. Then a video of him eating with a tteokbokki sauce on his lips, this was the time when Daehwi was busy with his camera, he never thought he was taking a video of him.

Then it cut to the video of the road taken from his car, then there’s him driving and then the amusement park. Daniel gulped, this whole time, he knows that Daehwi’s taking videos but he never thought that he was included on those. Most of the time, he saw his back while walking, these were the times when Daehwi was walking behind him to take videos.

Daniel took a deep breath as the video goes on. Then there’s a video inside the shop, Daehwi playfully took the video while they were trying out the headbands. There’s a video of the Vikings, he saw Daehwi take this video earlier. Then there’s the video that Daehwi snapped earlier when he called his name and he faced him. He reached for his chest and hold it, his heart is doing some drumrolls that it feels like arrhythmia.

Then there’s a stop motion of the selcas they took inside the Ferris wheel then it’s followed by the picture they took in the photo booth. When did Daehwi edit everything? How did this happen?

 

**_Surprise hyung!_ **

There’s a text that followed and he chuckled upon reading it.

 

**_Assignment: create a wonderful memory on our first date. Did I pass?_ **

****

Daniel gulped. Did Daehwi just call this day… as their  _first date_?

 

And to his disappointment, the video ended there.

“No! What does this mean?” he tried to play it again but it was the end. He immediately typed his message.

 

**_You can’t end the video like this!_ **

****

Daehwi replied immediately.

 

**_Did I pass?_ **

****

****

“Of course you did!” Daniel muttered under his breath as he typed.

 

**_I want to tell you in person. I’m on my way back._ **

 

And he didn’t bother to wait for his reply as he turned his engine on and took a U turn on the next lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi’s fidgeting. He edited the video using his phone each time he gets a chance to do it, it’s not the best but he hopes that Daniel liked it. He’s glad that he was able to finish it quick using a phone app and was able to send it to him. Of course, he’s expecting him to come back right now after he sent the video. He feels bad for making him do it but he can’t confess that quick, he needs some time first and he took the time when Daniel drove off to compose himself.

 

He’s seated at the gutter until he saw Daniel’s car pulling off. He immediately stood up. The moment Daniel got out of the car, Daehwi ran and threw himself in his embrace. As he hugged him tighter, he can feel his heart beat so fast, just like his right now.

“Did I pass?” he finally managed to ask, not breaking the hug yet.

“Who gave you the assignment?”

“No one but myself.” Daehwi sheepishly replied as he broke the hug as he looked up. Daniel’s stare is intense that his voice got caught in his throat. Daniel’s holding both of his wrist as he stare at him.

“Daehwi…”

“Hyung let me talk first, I don’t think I can finish a sentence if you say something now.” Daehwi said it quick but Daniel just nod, unable to say anything.

“Hyung, I don’t know anything about confessing and whatnot aside from what I saw on a lot of movies that I had to make a review and analysis on. I never really felt this intense feeling until now, I never even thought that it was going to be you… I don’t know much about this so I’m just gonna say it because if there’s one thing that I surely know, it is this one.” he paused and took a deep breath.

 

 

 

“I like you, I like you so much hyung!”  and he finally said it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally came through with an update. Been busy and when I'm free, I just don't get to have the will power to finish a chapter, sorry :( But here's an update and I was smiling the whole time I was making this.  
> I kept on reading on the comments each time I'm thinking of working on a chapter and I need inspiration.  
> Hey, I dunno but I miss Captain Kang and FA Lee. OMG! (free promotion: In between flights and layovers)  
> I am not sure if when can I update again but rest assured that I am always reading your comments. If only we can get to talk through AO3 :(
> 
> How was it? I hope to still hear it from you and I hope that you can still remember the existence of this fic. hehehe
> 
> -irememberyou


	14. FOURTEEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry :(
> 
> But a little warning, a little angst right there. If you're not comfortable with broken family issues, please don't continue reading the further part of the chapter. See end notes though :)

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

 

FOURTEEN

 

 

Daniel can’t help but smile as he nuzzled his nose on the younger’s nape only to earn some mumbled words from him. He softly giggled as he pulled him closer to him. They’re now inside his room, fully clothed under his sheets but he felt like he had the best night in his life as of now. He’s finally his, all thanks to his efforts.

 

 

 

 

_Daniel found himself pulling him into a hug, tighter than earlier, his voice got caught in his throat. Daehwi’s voice kept on repeating in his head ‘I like you, I like so much hyung!’_

_“Daehwi…” he managed to call his name._

_“Uhm?”_

_“I…” his voice is once again caught in his throat as he gulped. Daehwi said it, he only needs to respond, he’s been waiting for this._

_“You don’t need to say it hyung.” Daehwi broke the hug and looked up to him again. Daehwi’s eyes glistens over the night light, he looks beautiful._

_“I like you too Daehwi, I really do.” and he finally said it too._

_Daehwi gulped as he stared at his eyes, smile not leaving his face. He never thought that he’ll be feeling like this. He can’t explain it, he doesn’t even feel this way when he’s watching the most romantic movies labelled by his professors. This time, it’s real._

_He can feel Daniel’s hands move to his cheeks, Daniel’s intense stare is melting him, his knees are turning into jelly._

_“Can I?” Daniel politely asked and Daehwi just unconsciously nod. On movies that he saw, they do this and this time, he’s experiencing it for the first time._

_Daniel’s lips felt so soft in his. He just made their lips touch but Daehwi can feel a volt of electricity jolt all over his body. It took some moment until Daniel pulled away and suddenly, Daehwi felt empty, eyes still locked into Daniel’s lips._

_Daniel knows that it’s Daehwi’s first kiss and he feels happy to be the first. He’s surprised when Daehwi’s hands moved to his cheeks and pulled him for a second kiss. It felt weird, wild? He don’t know. Daehwi’s too innocent in the kiss but he can’t help but smile, he’s too cute. Daniel started to slowly move his lips, hoping to lead Daehwi on, completely forgetting that they’re in an empty lot where people can freely pass by and maybe there’s even a CCTV camera somewhere._

_This feels new but Daehwi’s learning quick when it comes to kissing. He tried moving his lips the way Daniel does and for a moment, his breathing got caught in his throat, Daniel really makes him feel things._

_Upon realizing their limits of air, both broke the kiss with Daniel resting his forehead on Daehwi._

_“You’re my boyfriend now?” Daehwi asked and that made Daniel chuckle._

_“What do you think?”_

_“I want to call you one.” Daehwi blushed and it may be dark but Daniel can see it making him pinch his cheeks before pulling him into a hug._

_“Be my boyfriend, Lee Daehwi.” Daniel whispered in the hug._

_“I’m glad to be one.”_

_“You know what? Message Jihoon you won’t be going home tonight.”_

And that’s the reason why Daehwi’s back in his place after some time but this time, on his bed, inside his embrace. He respects Daehwi so much, he will never go beyond what they are _allowed_ to do now. This is Daehwi’s first relationship and he wants to make it his _last_ too. When they arrived in his place, they both agreed to eat some ramen saying they got hungry over the _confession._ Daehwi messaged Jihoon and immediately turned his phone off to dodge his calls. He told Daniel he’ll cook while the doctor go for a shower only to get disappointed at how his pantry look empty. He disappointedly cooked the remaining ramen and took out some side dishes and they dug in for a midnight snacks.

Daehwi then took a shower in Daniel’s bathroom and used his clothes that are obviously oversized for him. Daniel found him so cute while getting drowned on his own clothes. Daniel lied down first and pulled Daehwi to his bed as he knows that the younger is getting shy around him, his red cheeks is enough to explain it to him.

A few kisses here and there and followed by a soft cuddle with Daehwi looking and feeling so small in his embrace. Daehwi just fell asleep without even saying anything, Daniel figured that he’s too tired over their activities the whole day.

He feels so happy that today happened, he feels so happy that finally, Daehwi’s his boyfriend. He can’t help but chuckle over the thought that… if Daehwi didn’t do it, he must have gone home alone now. He pulled Daehwi closer and kissed the back of his head before intertwining their fingers. He don’t think he’ll be able to sleep tonight with this cute film student in his embrace. Daehwi gave so much effort for today, he prepared everything for their _first date_ and Daniel’s thankful that Daehwi’s given to his life.

“Sleep tight Daehwi.” He whispered in his ear before closing his eyes to try and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a new day and if there’s one thing he’s sure, today is not a dream and tomorrow is going to be a continuation of a wonderful reality he’ll have with Daehwi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Good morning.” Daniel said with his eyes closed and heard a soft giggle from the tiny figure in between his arms.

“Good morning.” Daehwi shyly replied as he saw Daniel open his eyes. He’s been up for a few minutes now and he may have peppered small kisses on Daniel’s cheeks, no wonder the doctor woke up.

“This is true right? I have you in my embrace now.” Daniel whispered as he moved his head closer to Daehwi. He can see the tint of blush on Daehwi’s cheeks which he finds so cute.

“Earlier, I thought I was just dreaming but then I woke up beside you so I was not…” Daehwi replied.

“I’m so happy right now Daehwi, I don’t even know how to express it more than just saying it.” Daniel stared into Daehwi’s uneven eyes. He really likes his eyes, it’s pretty and sparkling, just shows how youthful he is.

“What do I call you now?” Daehwi’s question made Daniel chuckle.

“Call me hyung or whatever you like, it doesn’t really matter.” Daniel replied.

“Daniel hyung.” And that made Daniel’s ears turn red.

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel knew it was going to be hard to deal with his friends when he got back to the hospital but he’s too happy to bluntly reject their questions.

“So is Daehwi back in your place?” Sejeong asked this time and Daniel just shook his head. He must admit that he feel sad for that but they’re just starting and he respect Daehwi’s decision. They talked about it when he brought him back to Jihoon’s place and Daehwi said he just want to stay with Jihoon as its easier being in the same university and place with him.

“I still can’t believe Daehwi confessed to you first.” Jaehwan clicked his tongue earning laughter from their friends. He didn’t get into detail when he told them, he just said that they got together. He didn’t want to reveal that Daehwi confessed first but Sejeong just had to blow that fact out.

“When am I going to meet my son-in-law?” Jisung dramatically asked earning a loud laughter from Jaehwan and Sejeong. Nayoung had to apologize to the other people eating peacefully in the cafeteria.

“Hyung stop right there, stop.” Daniel embarrassingly chewed his meal while Jisung, Sejeong and Jaehwan are obviously having fun teasing him. Nayoung can only eat quietly as they already got people’s attention earlier, she doesn’t want to get involved with their three loud friends.

 

 

 

-

 

 

“You didn’t go home for one night and now the doctor is your boyfriend. Woah Lee Daehwi, woah.” Jihoon can seriously pass as Daehwi’s mom as he munched on his meal. Woojin kept on laughing while Daehwi is just busy eating his meal as well.

“I already told you guys that I’m going to confess and I did.” Daehwi simply replied.

“And you got together immediately?! Like, you only know each other for how long? I can’t believe-“

“Daehwi doesn’t need to know the person for years just to confirm that he likes him and the person likes him back too.”

“Oh yeah? Then how long should it be then?”

“A day is enough for that, Park Jihoon.” Woojin’s reply made Jihoon shut up as he took a sip on his drink. Daehwi suddenly felt like this is not about him anymore and he feels good about that… but at the same time, he knows that there must be something going on between his best friends. It’s not like he’s blind to not know that Woojin likes Jihoon too. He just hopes they find their ways to each other as lovers soon too. It has been years, it’s time for one of them to confess already.

“So are you moving out of Jihoon’s place?” Woojin asked him this time. Daehwi looked at Jihoon who looked straight into his eyes then to Woojin before shaking his head.

“No, I’m staying with Jihoon.”

“Really?!” and that made his housemate happy.

“Why?”

“We just got together but that doesn’t mean I will live with him immediately. It’s easier to be with Jihoon, we go to school together, discuss school stuff together and more. I can always meet him on my free time or when he comes over my working place.” Just the thought of Daniel made him unconsciously smile and blush making both Woojin and Jihoon laugh. What matters now is the fact that Daehwi is happy.

 

 

-

 

 

Daniel puts effort into making Daehwi feel how much he values him. After his hospital shift, he makes sure to at least drop by the convenient store or sometimes the bar to see him. He was able to meet Jihoon and Woojin as Daehwi’s lover as well. They were treated out by Sejeong for a dinner to ‘celebrate’ the fact that they finally got together. Everything is just going really well between them.

“Hyung are you free on Saturday?” Daehwi asked while they’re off to Jihoon’s place. Daniel dropped by the convenient store and decided to bring him home since he doesn’t have a shift on the bar tonight.

“I need to see some patients then after that I’m free, why?” Daniel glanced at him. He likes it when Daehwi randomly starts a conversation that will end up to them going on a _date_ or should we say, he just loves spending time with Daehwi, anytime, anywhere. Daehwi makes him feel youth, he’s stress free and he’s just in love when he’s with him.

“I need to watch this movie and I ditched Jihoon and Woojin for them to watch it together.” Daehwi giggled.

“I don’t know if it’s because you want watch it with me or you’re playing cupid with your two best friends.” Daniel chuckled as he glanced at his lover who is actually grinning while looking at him. He reached out for his hand to hold it with his eyes back on the road.

“Don’t you think I planned to do both?”

“You’re doing well.” Daniel kissed his knuckles making him giggle. Daniel’s obviously been into relationship before while for Daehwi, it’s his first so he doesn’t really have much knowledge about _relationships_ unless we put it into _films_ perspective as he lost count with how many romantic movies he was able to watch and critique for papers.

“What time on Saturday?” Daniel asked.

“Message me when you’re done then we can meet. I don’t want you to be in a hurry, the movie is showing for the whole month, we can surely buy a spot for a full show.” Daehwi replied. Even if they got together, he still knows how they both value their priorities in life. Daniel as a doctor and him as a student, convenient store employee and waiter.

“Okay, it’s a date then.”

“Yes, it’s a date.” And the car was filled with giggles and music from the radio.

 

 

-

 

 

Saturday came and Daehwi is excited. He doesn’t know if Daniel knows about 100th day celebration but he learned it from Sejeong who also forced them to celebrate their ‘22nd day together’ on a Nami island date which made them both enjoy the day. Today, he doesn’t want to mention it if Daniel doesn’t as he feels embarrassed by it, what matters is the fact that they’re spending the day together.

The moment he got out of his room after planning out what they’re going to do, he found Jihoon on the dining table with his laptop on.

“So early, what are you doing?” Daehwi immediately asked as he sat in front of him.

“I got some papers to finish, got no time for dates like you.” Jihoon replied with eyes glued on the screen which made Daehwi roll his eyes as he stood up and headed to the fridge.

“I finished my papers last night, I got the whole day free today.” Daehwi took a gulp of water from his glass and returned to his seat.

“So, how was the movie night with Woojin last night?” Daehwi excitedly fish out for information but he only heard Jihoon sigh.

“Why? Did something happen?”

“It was not just the two of us who watched last night.”

“WHAT?!” Daehwi had to push the glass to the center table as Jihoon sighed again.

“We were accompanied by one of the dancers from the studio… Seob…. Hyungseob…. Seob… augh I can’t exactly remember his name.” Jihoon sulked and Daehwi doesn’t need to ask for more questions as he knows it made his best friend sad. He sometimes want to knock some senses out of Woojin as he knows Jihoon will never take a step on this one.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, it’s nothing. We just watched and Woojin’s attention was with him the whole time, we never conversed on any technical part of the movie like we usually did… so no… it’s nothing.” Jihoon crossed his arms on the table as he recalled what happened last night.

“And I ate one bucket of popcorn alone while they shared on one. It was nothing.” Daehwi can only pout as he stood up and hugged Jihoon, hoping it can comfort his best friend.

“Want to watch it again with me? I can always watch a different movie with Daniel hyung. We can discuss while watching too.” Daehwi asked and Jihoon immediately shook his head.

“No. I’m not some high schooler who would sulk just because his crush is seeing someone else.” Jihoon replied as he looked up to Daehwi.

“But you look like one now.”

“Lee Daehwi!”

“Okay I’m sorry.” Daehwi returned to his seat.

“Are you sure that they’re seeing each other? He may just be someone close to Woojin.”

“The way that… augh… Seob? Hyunseob? Clang unto him last night tells me otherwise.”

“You do know that Woojin will surely tell us if he finds a lover right? He never said anything so stop assuming.” Daehwi feels bad to leave Jihoon like this and he knows that Daniel will understand if he cancels last minute but he also knows he’ll receive a great nagging from Jihoon if he does that for him. He just hopes that one day, Jihoon and Woojin will find the paths to each others arms as he knows that it is them who are meant to be together.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daehwi happily entered the hospital this time. He wanted to meet Daniel at the coffee shop but he feels like it is going to take much effort for him. Daniel hasn’t messaged him yet but he decided to come over and meet the others. He knows they’re in as Daniel mentioned everyone’s shift schedule to him. He brought some cookies and coffee for them, it’s from the convenient store but he’s proud that their coffee and cookies tastes as good as those big labelled coffees.

He directly went to the floor where Sejeong is as he messaged her earlier.

Upon arriving, he directly went to the nurse station where he saw Sejeong and Jisung talking.

“Dr. Yoon! Dr. Kim!” he happily greeted, earning the attention of the two.

“Daehwi you’re here!” Sejeong immediately welcomed him into her embrace. Jisung received the coffee and the cookies well.

“Daniel is still meeting a patient in the ER, let’s go. Nayoung’s shift is about to end now, Jaehwan’s probably there already.” Jisung said. The two doctors bade goodbye to the people in the nurse’s station as they headed back to the elevator.

The ER doesn’t have much patients now which is a good news for everyone.

“Let’s go.” Sejeong guided Daehwi to the nurse’s station where they found Nayoung giving instructions to Jaehwan who immediately recognized the presence of the new member of their little circle together with Sejeong and Jisung.

“Hi Nurse Im, Nurse Kim.” Daehwi greeted them and some of the nurses who are familiar to him already.

“Daehwi you’re here!” Jaehwan greeted as Nayoung waved at him.

“Daniel’s still seeing a patient but I guess he’ll be done in a while.” Nayoung informed him. Daehwi just nod as he doesn’t want to hurry him with his job.

“Come to the pantry, let’s eat the cookies while they’re hot.” Jisung announced as they headed to the little pantry inside the nurse’s station. Daehwi actually feels like he’s working there with how these people are treating him.

 

They’re busy talking about random things when Jaehwan came to inform them that Daniel is done.

“Let’s go.” Nayoung said as they four of them stood up.

 

As they got out of the little pantry, Daehwi’s eyes met someone whom he never thought he’ll ever meet again.

“NAYEON NOONA!” Daehwi’s voice raised as he found himself running out of the nurse’s station and attached Nayeon with a bear hug. It was long and Nayeon hugged him with the same amount of feelings he gave.

Daniel’s eyes widen upon seeing the reaction from his lover as he realized that _it must be the Nayeon noona from the center._

“Daehwi you’ve grown so much!” Nayeon broke the hug after some time as she cupped Daehwi’s face while the younger just giggled.

“Noona I never thought I’ll meet you again…” Daehwi’s voice sounded so small and sad as Nayeon pouted as well as she pinched Daehwi’s cheeks.

“I told you that the center’s doors are open for you to visit us anytime.” Nayeon replied.

Daehwi then realized that it’s not just the two of them there as he saw his boyfriend looking at him while standing behind Nayeon.

“Hyung… Dr. Kang.” Daehwi smiled as Nayeon let go of him so he walked between them.

“You know Nayeon noona?”

“Is he the _Nayeon noona_ you meant from the center?” Daniel asked Daehwi grinned and nodded.

“Wow, small world.” Daniel muttered.

“It is.” Daehwi excitedly replied.

“Nayeon noona I bet you know him already, Dr. Kang… my…” Daehwi suddenly felt his heart beat fast. This is the first time he’s introducing Daniel as his _boyfriend_ outside of his little circle aka Jihoon, Woojin, Sohye and his co waiters.

“My boyfriend.” He was able to finish the sentence as he felt Daniel’s fingers intertwine with him.

Nayeon’s facial expression changed but it was more on a pleased one.

“I never thought Daehwi will meet such a handsome doctor, I’m happy for you.” Nayeon smiled at him then looked at Daniel as if telling him _take care of him._ Daniel gave him a little nod as if getting what he meant. Daehwi then introduced the rest to Nayeon as well, noting that she is one of the noonas who took good care of him in the center.

“We’re you the last patient Dr. Kang saw? Is there something wrong with you noona?” Daehwi asked after all the introductions and Nayeon’s expression changed.

“No it wasn’t me… I’m fine.” Nayeon managed to reply.

“Oh, then who?” Daehwi then turned to look at Daniel.

“Nayeon accompanied her here, she’s at the x-ray section now.” Daniel replied.

“Oh, is someone so sick in the center that you had to bring him to the hospital?” Daehwi’s question made Nayeon gulp while Daniel looks at him confusedly.

“It’s not someone from the center, it’s a friend.” Nayeon replied shortly as she looked down.

“Oh, it’s good that you brought him to Dr. Kang.” Daehwi proudly said which made Daniel shyly scratch his nape.

“He was recommended by one of the sponsors of the center when I asked them for suggestions.” Nayeon replied as she can already feel her palm sweat.

“The patient must be on her way back here.” Daniel glanced at the clock as he estimated the time they could spend in the x-ray room.

Daehwi just nod as if he knows who Daniel is talking about while Nayeon is obviously fidgeting at the side.

“Dr. Kang.” Nurse Yeonjung called his attention which made them turn to her which obviously made Daehwi’s work freeze for a moment.

“Mrs. Lee.”

“Daehwi?”

“What are you doing here?”

“You know her too?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_It has been a cycle for Daehwi to come home without seeing his parents and go to school just seeing their shoes at the entrance which means they’re home. He never felt like they were a family in the first place. His mother is an elementary school teacher while his father is a regular office employee. They’re living in a normal kind of living that Daehwi doesn’t even want to ask for more._

_He grew up believing that he was an unplanned child. His parents told him that he happened when they were on their lowest point and they had to get married just so it wouldn’t look bad. That made him feel bad but he thinks that it is better than he had to guess why there were treating him like this._

_His father is obviously seeing some woman whom he once saw when he went out to join the noraebang with his classmates. His mother doesn’t care as well, she cares more about her students, how she can get additional pay among the teachers per month by doing well and she treats her students better than her own child._

_Daehwi grew up well he must say. He doesn’t want to be like those teenagers he can see on movies and dramas who turn into delinquent just because they’re living a crappy family life._

_It was all good until one day, he was distracted from studying when he heard them fighting outside his room. It was not just the usual fight they do as they’re both shouting and he can’t believe that he heard his mother swear, a total different from how she is as a teacher. That night made him feel scared, scared that what if one day, he wakes up and the ‘family’ he’s living with suddenly be gone?_

_That night was followed by another, and another and another that Daehwi doesn’t even dare to take a peek from his room. He tries his best to focus on studying, focus on watching some dramas and movies in his phone in full volume so he doesn’t need to listen to them._

_He doesn’t even know when it hit him, he doesn’t know if when the thought of leaving their house did entered his mind. Was it the time when he somehow heard his so-called parents arguing over divorce? Or was it when he heard them talking about taking custody of him if they divorce? Or was it when he heard them talk about leaving him with some relatives? He doesn’t know but one day, he had a bad day at school and when he entered their house, it didn’t comfort him at all. It didn’t feel home, it actually never did._

_He found himself fixing his things, a backpack, snapback and a few amount of money he was able to save, he left their house with his phone on top of his bed. He left without telling anyone. His mind was in a total chaos. School wasn’t doing well with some students using connections to get to the top while people like him burn brows into studying their heart out. Then there is his so-called family who never recognized his presence unless it is his recognition day where they both just ‘proudly’ go up onstage to wear him his awards and they don’t even bother to bring him out to eat after that. He doesn’t even remember how it felt being loved by them. Did they even love him? Or they just treated him as a mistake they needed to live with?_

_Call him a dramatic child but he doesn’t have anywhere to go. He doesn’t have much friends or someone he considers as his best friend at all. His friends at school are obviously just using him for his assignments and they would sit with him during quizzes and examination time._

_He found himself riding the train to Seoul where he never stepped foot to. It was scary for him, the moment he got out of the train, it felt like he was on a different country. He never left their little town so being in Seoul alone made him feel like he’s frozen on his spot, or it may also be because winter was coming._

_There was never an easy day for him. He spent his first night on the benches near the train station where he was chased out as he wasn’t allowed to sleep there._

_He tried looking for a place to stay but his money can only pay for a night and if he does, he wouldn’t have anything to pay for a meal. Going back home never entered his mind. He thinks that his parents are already thankful that he left them, at least, they wouldn’t need to stick together because of his existence._

_He found himself a job in a coffee shop where he is allowed to sleep there in exchange of being an all-around worker. He had to clean if needed, he had to carry supplies if needed, he had to be a waiter if needed as well. The only thing he wasn’t able to do was do the delivery as he doesn’t know how to ride a scooter._

_But it didn’t stay long, three months into the job, the owner decided to lay-off some employees as he thinks that some of them are conspiring and are stealing from the cash registry and unfortunately, Daehwi was one of them just because he was ‘new’ and he ‘sleeps there.’_

_He was able to save some money but it was still not enough to have him keep a place to rent even just for a month. He was aware of how expensive it is to live in Seoul but he never thought it was this hard. He found himself sleeping on sauna for a couple of days until it became really crowded. He didn’t even realize that his birthday passed and he aged a year already. He was just too busy to survive for the next day._

_He found a new job in a pork cutlet restaurant but since he was a minor, he wasn’t allowed to be a full time but at least, he was given one free meal a day but that didn’t last long as well when the owner found someone who can do his job full time._

_There he found himself going to an old subway. He heard that it’s scary to go there but he also heard that it’s because people like him… who doesn’t have a place to stay lives there._

_He found people like him, directionless. He slept there for a couple of days despite how cold and scary it was. Every night, he prays that he’ll wake up hugging his belongings intact as he once heard two people arguing that the other stole his money._

_Then one day he met Jihoon and Woojin who were staying on the farther part of the subway. Jihoon was an orphan while Woojin never met his parents and grew up with his abusive aunt. He found it amusing how they were destined to meet. He thought he found people he shared the same sentiments with. It was not until the subway was raided and teenage boys like them were forced to be brought to the juvenile center. They didn’t want to be there because it would feel like they were being prisoned and for the three of them at their age, they’re obviously going to be kicked out when they reach legal age as well. But somehow… the center provided 3 meals a day, a hot bath and a bed that Daehwi almost cried as he forgot how it felt to lie down on one._

_He lived alone in the streets of Seoul for almost a year until the raid happened. It felt like a nightmare but somehow, the juvenile center gave him another chance in life._

“You know her Daehwi?” Daniel’s question echoed in his mind as its starting to be hazy.

“Daehwi.” He can hear Nayeon call him but his eyes doesn’t leave the woman who called him earlier.

“Daehwi.” She called his name again.

Daehwi gulped as he found himself pulling his hand away from Daniel’s hold which obviously confused the doctor.

“Daehwi you’re pale, is there something wrong?” Daniel’s voice sounded worried as Daehwi looked at him with the sparkling eyes gone and now changed into something he couldn’t decipher.

“I’m sorry but I need to go.” and Daehwi didn’t even wait for any of them to reply as he hurriedly left, leaving everyone frozen in shock.

“Daniel follow him, I’ll handle this.” Jisung got back into his senses first which made Daniel nod as he removed the stethoscope from his neck and started to run after his lover, leaving his new patient, Nayeon and colleagues behind. His mind kept on flashing Daehwi’s eyes and his heart feels like being crushed now.

 

 

“Daehwi wait!” he’s panting as he found him on his way out of the hospital lobby.

“Wait please!” he called again as he was able to grab his wrist.

“No!” Daehwi tried pulling away but he’s obviously bigger and stronger than him.

“No, tell me what’s wrong.” Daniel tried to be gentle in holding him but Daehwi doesn’t look at him at all.

“Not now, let me go please.” His voice is shaky and he knows he’s going to cry or he must be crying already.

“Daehwi please.”

“Do you love me?” that question just came out of blue.

“Yes, I do.”

“Then you’ll let me go. Please.” Daehwi’s voice sounded so pleading as he slowly turned to look at him and Daniel can swear that the last time he saw this kind of different expression from Daehwi was back when he was kidnapped and was asking for help. It felt so far but the feeling in him feels the same. Daehwi’s eyes are glistening in tears and his cheeks are wet with tears.

“Daehwi…”

“Please…”

“Let me hail a cab for you… just… this one.” he managed to say. Daehwi just looked down so Daniel immediately signalled the security to call in a cab. The moment the cab entered, Daniel handed some cash to the driver and gave him instruction of the address. Daniel stopped Daehwi from closing the door.

“Talk to me when you’re ready, please.” Daniel pleaded and Daehwi just sighed while looking at him. He can only sigh as well as he closed the door of the cab and watch it drive off. He feels cold after letting him go without even hugging him or making sure he’s okay but he feels like he wasn’t ready to tell him anything at all. Right now, he’s not even sure if he wants to go back to the ER and know who the woman is even if he’s starting to have a gut feeling of her role in Daehwi’s life.

 

_Please be well, I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for just coming back now :( My life has been in a total rollercoaster these past few months that I can barely get hold of MS Word to actually and properly type my fics. I'm sorry, I'm so guilty :( I really missed writing that I really tried. I know I'm lacking so much right now and this chapter is just... augh T____T I'll try my best to get back to my system, I'll try :(
> 
> I really missed you guys and I'm sorry for taking so much time off.  
> I really miss writing, onghwi and nielhwi. BIEH will be updated soon. This will be updated again soon too.  
> I really miss maybe just maybe so who knows about that one getting a special something for Vogger Lee and model Kang right? Or maybe in between flights and layovers as I really miss Pilot Kang and FA Lee?
> 
> I swear, if I get back on my pace, I'll make it up to all of you. Huhuhu.
> 
> But hey this chapter started pretty well right? hehe.
> 
>  
> 
> I'll see you all again next time.
> 
> -irememberyou
> 
>  
> 
> PS: I'm really guilty posting a chapter like this after being MIA for so long T___T


	15. FIFTEEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

 

FIFTEEN

 

It’s been three days since Daniel last saw Daehwi. All he knows is that he went home to Jihoon’s place but he doesn’t face anyone. Even Sejeong came over to visit but he refused. Jihoon just told him that he tries to feed him at least but Daehwi doesn’t come out of his room except for toilet breaks. Daniel just wanted to be with him now but he knows that Daehwi is asking for time so he let him.

 

 

 

After the cab was out of his sight, he came back to the emergency room and found the woman crying in Nayeon’s arms while Jisung was trying to help in calming her down.

“We can go to my office for a while.” Daniel offered and Nayeon just nod. They brought the elder woman to his office and Daniel prepared a cup of tea for her. He didn’t say anything, he thinks he figured it out. _His mom._

“Thank you.” Mrs. Lee finally calmed down after some time.

“I’m sorry for making scene, I didn’t mean to.” Mrs. Lee said as she took a sip from her glass.

“Where is he?” she asked.

“He left.” Daniel simply replied and she just nodded.

“I…. I think we should leave.” Mrs. Lee said as she stood up.

“I’ll schedule our next appointment right after I see the x-ray and blood chem results.” Daniel replied as he stood up as well.

“I’m sorry Dr. Kang. I know you are one good doctor but I think I should change hospitals.” Mrs. Lee didn’t even look at him. Her statement even made Nayeon gasp.

“But-“

“Is that your final decision Mrs. Lee?” Daniel asked this time and Mrs. Lee just nod without looking at him at all.

“I understand. You have my calling card so you can just message me if where is the hospital that you are transferring so I can send in your records.” It’s not everyday that someone chooses to leave his side as their doctor so it feels new but it doesn’t feel strange and he doesn’t even want to wonder why.

“Thank you for your time Dr. Kang.” Nayeon gave him a slight bow as she made sure to have an eye contact with him, hoping to send a message that she’ll be back for Daehwi and Daniel just gave him a small nod.

 

After that day, Mrs. Lee and even Nayeon never visited the hospital again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Daehwi, time to eat lunch please.” Jihoon knocked on his door for the nth time but received no response. He wanted to just open it but he knows that Daehwi might just get mad at him.

“I prepared a meal and I’ll wait for you so we can eat together.” Jihoon continued talking. Daniel told him and Woojin about what happened to the hospital. Both were happy to know that Nayeon came to the hospital but the news about Daehwi’s mother was something they didn’t see coming.

Jihoon was about to turn around when he heard the door click so he immediately waited until the door opened revealing Daehwi. The eye bags in his eyes are visible and he doesn’t look like he slept well in the past three days.

“Shall we eat?” Jihoon chose to ask instead of _are you okay?_ That is actually bugging his mind. He knows he’s not.

“I’m going somewhere. I’ll be back soon. I’ll drop by the convenient store to cover Sohye’s shift too.” Daehwi replied as he adjusted his bag. He filed a sick leave from the bar and Shindong accepted it. Sohye on the other hand covered for his shift in the convenient store as a payment for her shifts that Daehwi covered before.

“Where?”

“Just somewhere. Don’t worry.” Daehwi gave him a small smile and patted his shoulder before going, leaving Jihoon dumbfounded. He wanted to grab his phone and message Daniel but he chose not to. Daehwi is old enough to know what he is doing, he hopes he is. Jihoon can only sigh.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

“Noona.” Daehwi called her attention and that immediately made Nayeon stand up and face him. Nayeon smiled revealing her bunny teeth before opening her arms to welcome him in her embrace.

“I missed you so much.” Nayeon whispered between the hug. Daehwi can only close his eyes feeling the warmth of the hug from one of the person he trusts the most back when he was still in the center. Nayeon started as a young volunteer at the center and eventually started working there during the time Daehwi was brought in from the subway.

Daehwi was so surprised to receive a message from Nayeon while was staring on his ceiling on the second day from the time he met _her._

“Have a seat, I ordered your favourite, I hope it still is.” Nayeon giggled as she pointed at the meal in front of them. Daehwi beamed upon seeing the food displayed in front of them.

“I am so happy that you decided to meet me.” Nayeon continued to taking as she reached for her spoon. She was so afraid when she sent him a message after she was able to pursue Daniel in providing his number to her.

“I was surprised when I received your message.” Daehwi replied, not looking up to avoid having an eye contact with her.

“How are you?” Nayeon managed to ask.

“I’m on my third year, I took up films together with Jihoon and Woojin.”

“Oh I miss the three of you.” Nayeon beamed.

“I have a boyfriend, you met him right?” Daehwi continued and Nayeon just hm-ed in response.

“I first met him in the hospital then it followed with few more meetings and then… this.” Daehwi doesn’t want to get into details but he knows that Nayeon wants to know. He thinks that this is not the right time to talk about his love life yet.

“It was fate.” Nayeon sweetly replied as she tried to look at him and Daehwi looked up at the same time. The younger blushed with the thought of his boyfriend…. His lover whom he shut off right after that day. He really wants to meet him, see him, hug him, kiss him but he don’t think he can do it without breaking down.

“You want to ask about it but you’re afraid.” Nayeon started after a comfortable silence. Daehwi didn’t reply but his deep sigh was an answer to Nayeon.

“She said that she tried looking for you after they found out you left.” Nayeon started to narrate.

“You were a minor.” Nayeon doesn’t want it to come out of his mouth but Daehwi dropping his spoon was enough for her to know that Daehwi got what she meant. His parents looked for him as he was a minor and it was a grave offense to parents if it’s discovered that their child is lost. Daehwi faked about his parents when he was found in the subway so he wasn’t questioned that much.

“They got divorced after a year that you left.” Nayeon bit her lower lip, unsure if she should continue but she chose to do it.

“She was told that teenagers like you can most probably be found in centers if found by authority so she tried looking for you again.”

“She said she started with the ones near your place but she figured that they could have found you if you were that close so she decided to come to Seoul.”

“When did she found the center?”

“A year after you left.”

“But I’m on legal age, why did she keep on looking?” _Guilt._ Nayeon wanted to say but she chose not to. Daehwi didn’t continue to ask so she proceeded on her narrative.

“She got married again right?” Daehwi asked this time.

“She’s married with one of the Center’s major sponsors. That’s where she found you…. on one of the bulletin boards in the center when she came with him to visit.” Nayeon can clearly remember that scene.

 

_Nayeon escorted the married couple around the center. The man with them right now was once from this center as well. He was adopted by a well off family and when he grew up, he decided to pay back. He kind of grew old alone and planned to adopt someone from the center when he retires but he met her and they eventually got married._

_“The center has produced a lot of outstanding students, some were able to become scholars in well-known universities after they had to leave the center due to legal age.” This is what Nayeon usually do. She does this kind of PR talks to sponsors, potential sponsors and potential adoptive parents. The words just naturally flows out of her mouth._

_“Here are some of the activities that our center holds every year-“ Nayeon had to pause after hearing the woman gasp._

_“Is there something wrong ma’am?” Nayeon asked._

_“That…. That kid...” she managed to point at the picture on the upper right with three boys happily smiling with their arms around each other’s neck, naturally playing around._

_“The one in the middle?” Nayeon asked._

_“Yes.” The man is just looking at them weirdly._

_“He’s out of the center now, he’s of right age and left, the other two with him are already adopted as well. Why do you ask ma’am?”_

_“What is his name?” the man asked instead as he saw the unreadable expression on her wife’s face._

_“Daehwi, Lee Daehwi.” And Nayeon’s words made the man’s eyes widen as he glanced at his wife, not thinking twice in pulling her in his embrace._

“She introduced herself as your mom and did every possible mean to get your information from us. We tried looking for you at the last address you logged but it was demolished already. Where did you stay that time?” Nayeon asked, worry evident in her expression.

“Somewhere…. With Jihoon.” Daehwi simply answered. He doesn’t even want to talk about how he got himself kidnapped and other misfortunes he had.

“I see…. We tried asking the university and the NGO supporting you but you know how it works… you’re of legal age so they cannot just reveal your whereabouts without your consent.” Nayeon continued.

“She’s sick?” Daehwi doesn’t want to hear more about how they tried to find him.

“She’s been nursing a cough for almost three weeks now so she decided to finally go to the doctor.”

“With you?”

“She comes over the center weekly and we somehow became friends. She’s friends with the other sponsors as well and one of them recommended Dr. Kang. Since I was free and her husband is in Jeju right now, I volunteered to accompany her.” Nayeon replied.

“And so we met.” Daehwi finished the story as he pushed the plate away from him and looked up.

“I don’t want to do anything with her anymore.” Daehwi finally said. These were the thoughts he had when he locked himself up in his room. He was able to survive without her, without them and so he will survive even if he finally met her.

“Won’t you ever give her a chance? To see you? talk to you?” Nayeon asked.

“I’ve been away from her noona, I don’t think I want to associate with her anymore although she became my boyfriend’s patient.”

“She left Dr. Kang’s side and transferred hospital as well.” and that surprised Daehwi.

“You walked out and that sort of answered her questions if you still wanted her in your life.” Nayeon revealed as Daehwi can only bit his lower lip.

“And if you want to know, she’s still under observation as Dr. Kang prescribed antibiotics to her. She seems to be getting better though.”

“I see.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

Daniel tried again. This time, he came to the convenient store and Sohye was the one who welcomed him.

“Did he come?”

“He did… yesterday.” Sohye replied and Daniel almost wanted to scream. He is very frustrated as he has not seen him for a week, no news about him as well. Yesterday, he was stuck in a staff meeting in the hospital that lasted for the whole day. He had to be with Dr. Minseok the whole day and he only went home to sleep for two hours before coming back to the hospital. Even his friends are worried about Daehwi as well.

“How was he?” he managed to ask.

“Bad.” Sohye doesn’t even know how to describe Daehwi. He looks like Daehwi but it doesn’t feel like she’s talking to Daehwi. She can’t even remember if she saw him smile yesterday.

“And Dr. Kang.” She didn’t even wait for the doctor to reply to what she said earlier.

“He just left as well.” and that didn’t even take Daniel five more seconds before he stormed out of the convenient store to the direction that Daehwi usually use.

 

 

“Lee Daehwi!” he finally shouted his name upon seeing his small lover’s back. He cannot be mistaken, the guy walking is him, he can never be mistaken by his small figure and cute head (A/N: insert Daniel wanting to bite Daehwi’s head here. It’s always such a cute scene to see)

Daniel immediately stopped and walked towards Daehwi who was just staring at him.

“Hi.” He said, almost breathless.

“Hi.” Daehwi replied, looking down as he doesn’t’ even have the courage to look at him in the eyes. His mind is still in chaos and he’s still feeling bad on how he just shut off his boyfriend like that.

“I missed you.” no how are you, are you okay, how have been questions came, it was simply those three words that made Daehwi’s eyes brim with tears again. How can he find someone like him?

Daniel immediately saw the tears threatening to fall from Daehwi’s eyes. He didn’t think twice in pulling his wrist and envelop him in his embrace, not minding that they are near a bus stop with a lot of people passing by.

“Come.” Daniel simply whispered as he broke the hug and circled his arm on Daehwi’s shoulder. Daehwi didn’t say anything as he just looked down. He’s really tired and Daniel just gave him somehow, a new found strength.

 

They walked towards Daniel’s car and Daniel immediately drove off. It’s good that it is his day off so he doesn’t need to worry about the hospital today. The drive was silent and Daniel just kept on glancing at Daehwi, checking if he is okay.

“We’re here.” he announced the moment they parked.

The elevator ride was filled with silence as well making Daniel feel so frustrated. He doesn’t know how to talk to him and somehow he wishes that Sejeong is around to actually talk to Daehwi. He was never good in comforting people so being with Daehwi like this makes him feel so bad.

 

The moment they entered his place, Daniel immediately went to the kitchen to prepare some hot chocolate.

The moment he came back to the living room, Daehwi was just seated in the couch, looking down.

“Daehwi.” he called for his attention, the only time Daehwi looked at him. He placed cup of hot choco on Daehwi’s hands that were resting on his lap. He then proceeded to sit on the floor and just look up to him. Daehwi took a sip of the choco and placed it back to the center table.

“I’m sorry for shutting you off. I was not in my right mind.” Daehwi finally talked. Daniel immediately grabbed both of his hands and kissed it. He pressed it on his cheeks as he looked up to him.

“I am just glad you’re here.” Daniel smiled at him and again, tears were brimming in his eyes. Daniel took a deep breath before leaving the floor and sat down beside Daehwi. He didn’t say anything and just hugged him. Moments later, he can hear faint sobs in his chest, Daehwi’s crying.

It breaks his heart to see him like this. He doesn’t know if how does he feel but he knows that he doesn’t need to ask. Just by seeing him, he knows how hurt he is right now. After all these years of not seeing his mom, she shows up on the most unexpected way. Daniel may have grown up with separated parents but he never hated them or experienced this amount of pain. Yes he may have questioned them back then but as he grew older, he realized things and now he’s just happy that they’re happy.

Daniel lost count if how many minutes or hours has it been but he realized that Daehwi’s not sobbing anymore. He slowly lifted his partner’s body away from his embrace to see his eyes closed and if there’s something that Daniel noticed, it’s his body temperature.

“Sht you’re having a fever.” Daniel whispered as he immediately placed his hand on Daehwi’s forehead. He slowly shifted their position and he carried him in his room. Half of him wanted to bring Daehwi to the hospital but he don’t think that it is the best place to keep him right now. He wants to be around him as much as possible.

 

He started to sponge bath him, hoping to bring down the temperature. He also called Jihoon asking if how was Daehwi these past few days and he asked the younger to be honest so he can feed him the right medicine. Jihoon got worried but he knows that among them, Daniel is the best person to be with Daehwi right now. Not only because he was his lover but because he was a doctor as well.

 

“Are you sure that you don’t want to bring him to the hospital?” Nayoung asked as she glanced at Daehwi’s sleeping figure. His lips were dry and pale. His temperature wasn’t going down as well.

“I’ll give it 24 hours, if I don’t see any changes, I’m bring him in.” Daniel replied as he finished fixing the IV.

“Sejeong wanted to come but her patients are all over the place, she told us to tell you bring him in.” Jisung said this time. The two of them came over to bring the IV and some medicines the moment Daniel called.

“I don’t think the hospital is the right place to bring him in now. We all know what happened there.” Daniel replied as he looked at his lover’s sleeping figure. He hasn’t slept a wink since Daehwi fell asleep or actually lost consciousness earlier.

“You should sleep Daniel, we’ll stay and look after him for now. I know you’re tired.” Jisung said as he noticed the heavy bags under Daniel’s eyes. He was about to refuse when Nayoung spoke as well.

“You just came from a long surgery with Dr. Minseok. Daehwi is already sick, we can’t afford you getting sick as well.” and of course, Nayoung was right. He just nod and proceeded to the couch. He doesn’t have a plan to leave the room. It didn’t take a few minutes for him to actually fall asleep.

“I’ll go prepare some food.” Nayoung said as she quietly exited the room while Jisung just nodded, exchanging his looks from the sleeping doctor to the sick lover. Daehwi has really became part of their life right now and he knows that he will be, for a very long time. He hopes that whatever he is going through right now, he’ll get over it and bring back the old Daehwi they knew.

 

Five hours past until Daniel flinched making both Jisung and Nayoung snap their necks to his direction.

“Daehwi.” he panted as his eyes immediately looked at the sleeping figure on the bed.

“You’re awake.” Jisung said. Daniel closed his eyes as he massaged his temple. He planned to sleep for an hour and now he knows that he slept longer which is making him feel bad.

“How is he? How long was I out?”

“Five hours? Or more?” Nayoung replied and Daniel almost cursed himself.

“Has he woken up?” Daehwi asked and both Jisung and Nayoung just shook his head.

“He needs to wake up to eat.” Daniel walked towards the bed and checked on Daehwi’s IV before sitting beside him. He brushed away his fringe and he can still feel how hot his temperature is.

“I monitored his temperature, it went down a little but it rose up again. Jisung administered some medicine through his IV thirty minutes ago.” Nayoung replied, talking like the nurse she is.

“Thank you. I’m sorry I slept long.” Daniel faced them.

“You should have slept more.” Nayoung replied.

“No, it was enough. You two should go, you’re pulling an all nighter here and you still have work tomorrow.” Daniel looked at them with apologetic eyes.

“It’s okay. We came since we are worried, we stayed because we’re worried, still.” Jisung gave him a smile as he patted his shoulder.

The two waited for Daniel to eat and Nayoung gave him instructions on how to reheat the meals she prepared before they finally left.

 

He returned to his room finding Daehwi still asleep. Judging from the bags under his eyes, he can actually say that he hasn’t been sleeping well. Daniel even thinks he’s starting to get dehydrated too.

 

He stayed up and used his laptop to do some readings. At least, he’s doing something.

It was past 8 in the morning when he heard Daehwi make a sound. He fell asleep but his eyes immediately opened upon hearing him.

“Daehwi.” it only took him two huge steps to reach his bed and sit beside him.

“Daehwi.” he called again to see if he was conscious already. Daehwi’s eyes fluttered open and he opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. Daniel immediately grabbed the glass beside him but returned it after realizing that Daehwi can’t drink while lying down. He took two pillows beside Daehwi and placed it on his back and one cushion pillow to support his head. He then grabbed the glass and helped him out to drink.

“Just take a sip.” Daniel instructed.

“Hyung.” Voice finally came out of his throat after three more sips. It made Daniel smile as he returned the glass to the bedside table.

“You’re having a fever. How do you feel?” Daniel asked as he placed his hand on his forehead. He took his temperature an hour ago after he gave him some sponge bath. It lowered down a little.

Daehwi looked around first and he saw an IV hanged at the bedside. He glanced on the other side of the room and saw some hospital supplies as well.

“Hyung…” Daehwi tried to form a sentence as he looked at the IV again making Daniel chuckle.

“I didn’t want to bring you to the hospital so I brought the hospital here.” he knew its lame but it made Daehwi.

 

He was able to feed Daehwi and was able to feed him medicine as well.

“Don’t you have work?” Daehwi can’t help but ask as he watches Daniel fix some supplies after he finished cleaning the medicine cup.

“It’s my day off and I filed a leave for the next three days.” Daniel replied, still focused on what he was doing.

Daehwi was taken aback by what Daniel said. He knows his man, he rarely takes a leave, he doesn’t even know if the man take some time off or go absent for some reason.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?” Daniel asked as he sat on his bed side again.

“Work-“

“How am I going to focus in curing other people when my boyfriend is sick and needs me as well?” Daniel replied and held Daehwi’s hand and kissed it. It made the younger smile.

“How do you feel?”

“My body feels like I have been hit by a truck.” Daehwi admitted and it made Daniel pout.

“You must be so exhausted. You can sleep now.”

“I slept too much already.”

“But that was not enough for someone who is sick. You need to rest so you can regain your health.” Daniel replied. Daehwi just pouted and opened his mouth to speak but closed it again.

“I want to sleep beside you too… if that’s what you are trying to say.” Daniel chuckled which made Daehwi blush. Color on his face has slowly returned after he was able to eat a meal earlier. It somehow lifted some worries in Daniel’s heart.

“But I know you wouldn’t let me even if I say that I wouldn’t get sick.” Daniel continued.

“You should sleep. I’ll sleep too, I can see you’re tired.” Daehwi said instead. Daniel wanted to protest but he knows that his eye lids are failing him.

“Just call me if you need anything… I mean _anything_.” Daniel replied and Daehwi nodded. He stood up and help him lie down, kissed his forehead and whispered a soft _“I love you”_ before returning the couch. Daehwi didn’t sleep immediately, his body aches, his head aches as well but he watched Daniel sleep fall asleep and confirmed it after hearing soft snores from him. _I love you too._

 

Two days passed and Daehwi got better. It was on the second day that his temperature returned back to normal. Headaches and body pain left during the second day. Daniel removed the IV as well. Sejeong, Nayoung, Jaehwan and Jisung came to visit as well. Jihoon and Woojin just called several times as well.

“What are we doing?” Daehwi asked as Daniel was setting up the television in his room. Daehwi was able to finally take a bath after his _doctor_ allowed him so he is all fresh and was able to cook earlier as well, despite Daniel’s protest.

“You’ll see.” Daniel replied. Daehwi watched the TV load and Daniel sat beside him. He pressed something on his phone and a familiar logo came out of the screen.

“Oh my God!” Daehwi gasped. It made Daniel chuckle as he returned his phone to the bedside and pulled the younger closer to his embrace right after he settled his back to the head board. He wanted to have this played in his entertainment room but he doesn’t want Daehwi to leave the bed so he decided to do it here.

“Hyung.” Daehwi looked up only for Daniel to look down and kiss the top of his nose.

“I found it in the internet so I bought it and decided to watch it here. I hope it’s not too late for your school work?” Daniel replied. It was the movie that they were supposed to watch that _day._ Daehwi decided that he’ll just pass late even if Jihoon insisted that he can just share the story to him so he can come up with something.

“No it’s not.” Daehwi replied as he snuggled closer. He doesn’t even want to get up and grab a pen and paper. He’ll just let his mind remember important details. He likes this position more.

 

Over the days that he was here, Daniel never raised a topic about his mom or anything that happened. Instead, Daniel gave him his full attention and that just made him fall over the guy more.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you... perhaps... still... remember this fic? I am sorry :( I know I just kept on saying sorry but I still fail in updating both of my on going fics but I swear, I am trying. It's just that, work is taking so much toll on my body and time and when I'm home, I sometimes just want to lie down even if my brain is already thinking of the next chapter. Sorry.
> 
> But hey, I missed domestic nielhwi so... you can... see it in this chapter. hehe. I hope the reveal of a character from Daehwi's past didn't really affect you much. It just had to happen.
> 
> I'll see when I can update next, hopefully soon. 
> 
> I miss nielhwi <3 
> 
> 'til next update.
> 
> -irememberyou
> 
> oh and Happy New year again!


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